Sophrosyne: Polyethylene-based Control

INSTINC presents Sophrosyne: Polyethylene-based Control, showcasing art by INSTINC AIR Anya Mielniczek (Canada) including collaborative work Origomi created with local artist Li (Singapore). Sophrosyne: Polyethylene-based Control put’s value on one of today’s most modern materials. In the 21st century we have tonnes of it around, millions –billions, even trillions of tonnes of it. Easily accessible, cheap and durable –the plastic bag. In this exhibit Anya Mielniczek and Li re-energize the material we so easily toss aside with work that is both playful and inviting yet speaks towards an environmental reality our consumerism is impacting.

Sophrosyne is an ancient Greek ideal which suggests that harmonious living can be obtained through mastering balance and moderation in life through controlling ones desires and excessive behaviours.

The title for this exhibit is both the aim behind the entire body of work and the projected irony. The artworks themselves have been created through a meditative and mindful state, taking a modest approach and respect of their material nature . On one hand compositions are balanced and self-aware in their strokes and arrangements. On the other, there is a power in scale and number that can be seen in installation work Origomi, harmonious yet extreme where the main material being employed is simply trash. Profiling how excessive our society’s consumeristic tendencies can be one plastic bag at a time.

Polyethylene-based Control questions our actions, our consumption and the responsibility we have for the materials we go through at hyper speed. The exhibit invites the viewer to look at our human foot print, of our relationship to nature as a whole and what balance and harmony can be sought when trash becomes treasure and plastic becomes controlled.