Art and environment
Marta, a gallery in Los Angeles hosting works at the meeting points of art and design and investigating overlooked domestic and institutional objects, teamed up with the tree-free toilet paper brand Plant Paper to an exhibition named “Under / Over” which refers to the dispute over the position of the toilet roll in the toilet paper holder, is showing a group of more than 50 variations of toilet paper holders. The exhibition is also hosted online and it highlights the important role of Plant Paper in prioritizing the design of the packaging in contrast to the big toilet paper companies that are ruining the environment.
In the early 1900s, after centuries of wiping variously with stones, sponges, sea shells, and corn cobs, the West began using toilet paper made of virgin tree pulp, chlorine, and a host of other toxic chemicals.
So beyond getting inspired by the incredible pieces of design that merge function and delight, “Under / Over” would like to provide some hope for reversing the effects of the current and appalling practice of 27,000 trees being flushed down the world’s toilets each day, as well as 37 gallons of clean water (and over one gallon of bleach, formaldehyde, and other chemicals), used per roll. Let’s rethink the humble toilet paper holder, says the curators, “prizing a seemingly humble piece of hardware that we invariably interact with every day and, in so doing, perhaps prompting a subtle shift in this particular paradigm”.
Marta’s curatorial and publication programs take an interest in both the process of an object’s creation as well as the narrative of its creator(s). It also embraces the intersection of disciplines, advocates for diversity in design, and promotes access to the arts.
Fonte architecturaldigest.com
