ART CURRENTS - Lost and Found:

Michelle Reader’s work spans the disciplines of sculpture, prop-making, and design for performance. She makes sculpture from recycled materials such as found objects, household waste, scrap wood, metal, and anything else that she can scrape up. She sometimes uses papier-mache or makes mechanical objects from the materials. There is a sensitivity to her work that goes beyond mere representation. She manages to create an almost living, breathing cast of quirky characters out of what was once refuse.

Mugridge Family

Reader's implied commentary on over-consumption is even more pronounced in her day-to-day life. She runs workshops for festivals, galleries, and schools and creates sculptures and installations from scrap materials to promote recycling. The fox, for example, was made live at an event—the Recycling and Waste Management exhibition in Birmingham, England, September 2008. 

Fox

The Mugridge family was created on a commission from a Borough Council. The sculptures were made from recyclables collected by the family, and will be used by the council at their recycling roadshows.

Birdie

Reader's recent creations include a giant chicken and rabbit for a shopping mall in Hong Kong; a pair of wearable mechanical wings; and a 5 meter-high Big Ben made from wheat (www.michelle-reader.co.uk).

The Mechanical Wing

Reader earned a BA in Fine Art (De Montfort University, Leicester, 1997), and an MA in Scenography (Central St Martins, London, 2003), and has been influenced by artists such as Rebecca Horn, Tony Cragg, Jean Tinguely, and Joseph Beuys.

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