Lucy Orta

Lucy Orta’s work examines the social bonds within communities and the relationships between individuals and their environments. Presented in both venues, this exhibition brought together sculptures, videos, objects, drawings and photographs created by Orta over the last ten years for a diverse range of collaborative projects, performances, installations and social interventions held in cities around the world.

Lucy Orta draws inspiration from a variety of disciplines including fashion, architecture, design philosophy, social activism and traditional art practice. Conceptual in her approach, she is also innovative and experimental; creating modular and transformable objects such as wearable shelters, survival kits, giant dinner parties and mobile kitchens that are both functional and utopian.

As part of this exhibition, the partners commissioned a new meal by Lucy Orta in collaboration with Groundwork. The thirty-first Act of 70 x 7 The Meal evolved as a collaboration between local artists Jo Salter and Anne-Marie Culhane to celebrate sustainable methods of cooking, preparing and sharing food. Based on a menu of locally foraged foods by professional forager Caroline Davey, the artists assisted chef Justin Ashton in preparing a feast with the lowest impact possible. Serving as a backdrop to the meal, giant black boards were covered in illustrations by James Mankiewicz, who visually transcribed the carbon footprint of all the elements of the meal. During the performance, the Groundwork organisation calculated every carbon mile from the transport used by the guests attending the meal, to the ingredients and the provenance of the dinner service—providing unusual and insightful information throughout the evening.

www.studio-orta.com