Click here for the online catalogue or visit the Urban Biome at Civic Square (180 London Circuit), Canberra during November 2024.
Spike Deane has collaborated with
Ephemeral Country,
Craft + Design Festival’s
Urban Biome project.
Much of my art practice is casting glass and making moulds, so you wouldn’t be surprised that I think that glass is an endlessly captivating material—so much so that even the smallest piece feels impossible to throw away!
At Canberra Glassworks, at the end of each day, I collect scraps of glass from workshops and artists. Many of these fragments carry distinct patterns and colours, making it easy to recognize their original creators. Each little bit is the result of hours of work and I want to give them another chance to be admired. That is the drive behind the project for me.
Creating terrazzo from waste glass and concrete is a sustainable construction practice that recycles materials into high-quality, aesthetically unique objects. Using waste glass introduces vibrant colours, textures, and patterns, giving new life to discarded materials. By using waste concrete from the building industry as the bonding agent for the terrazzo, this approach lowers the need for cement and its associated CO₂ emissions. This reduces landfill waste, cuts pollution, and supports a circular economy where raw materials are repurposed before becoming landfill. Supported as part of a Canberra Glassworks initiative to actively reduce and reuse waste glass.
The reused glass terrazzo objects create an "archaeological dig," revealing layers of glass from many different artists’ works at Canberra Glassworks. Each piece of recycled glass tells its own story, capturing moments of process and people working within the building. As light hits the terrazzo, the glass sparkles, revealing a blend of history and craftsmanship. This striking, eco-friendly material honours the legacy of glasswork, showcasing the beauty and potential of these waste materials.
I would like to thank Louis Grant, Edwina Leeper, Tom Rowney and Wendy Dawes for their support.
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