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'Twin Tub with Beaver', 1981
by Bill Woodrow
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The sculpture 'Twin Tub with
Beaver' by British artist Bill Woodrow (born 1948)
is not carved from wood or cast in metal. It is
made from a twin-tub washing machine, which has
seen better days. Viewed from above and three sides,
it looks just as you would expect this sort of old-style
washing machine to look. There are three dials and
two doors, which open upwards to reveal two metal
drums: one to wash the dirty clothes, the other
to rinse and spin them. Viewed from the front, however,
it looks entirely different.
The artist has removed a section of metal so that
the mechanical workings of the machine are clearly
visible. The hole has been cut in the shape of an
animal with a pointed head and small ears, rounded
body and stub of a tail. The surrounding area has
been covered in wood-effect, sticky-back plastic.
The piece of metal cut out of the washing machine
has not been thrown away but manipulated to make
a small model of a beaver, also covered in wood-effect,
sticky-back plastic.
Bill Woodrow made 'Twin Tub with Beaver' in the
1980s when he was interested in recycling discarded
consumer goods to 'to tell stories and make witty
points'. It is a work that often makes people smile:
wood-effect sticky-back plastic is not a common
material in the making of sculpture, for example.
More seriously, it draws attention to waste in society
- how people throw away objects that are broken
or seem old-fashioned when they could be transformed
into something else.
While the work is a reflection of British society
in the 1980s, it remains relevant today. It highlights
a concern with waste that presages current anxiety
and debate about the environment.
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© Leeds Museums and galleries
(City Art Gallery) U.K./The Bridgeman Art Library.
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