Artists Ponder Food: Song Dong

Beijing-based artist Song Dong (b. 1966) explores notions of impermanence and the transience of human endeavor. 

Waste Not

"Finally, in 2005, Mr. Song proposed that they turn the accumulated junk into an art project. In this way, he argued, nothing would be discarded and lost; everything would be meaningfully recycled and preserved. His mother agreed to this and they emptied the premises. Then, in an exhibition space in Beijing, they sorted its contents into the kinds of meticulous piles and groupings seen at MoMA: stacks of neatly folded shirts, clusters of bottles and cans, groupings of stuffed animals and so forth, arranged in and around a dismantled section of the original wood house. As a finishing touch, Mr. Song created a neon sign reading, 'Dad, don't worry, Mum and we are fine,' and hung it over the installation." Credit: Todd Heisler/The New York Times