By Randi Bjornstad
Despite the challenges growing out of months of pandemic limitations, MECCA (the Materials Exchange Center for Community Arts, in its long form) is holding its 12th annual Object Afterlife Art Challenge, through Sept. 11.
The object of the show is to hand area artists a bag of “stuff” — scraps and other miscellaneous objects, and then see what kind of imaginative, inspiring, or otherwise thought-provoking art they can make of it. The results of this year’s challenge can be seen in person at The Lincoln Gallery or virtually on MECCA’s Facebook, Instagram, and web pages.
And there are prizes. This year’s judges are Liora Sponko of the Oregon Arts Commission, sculptor/reuse artist Jud Turner, Angie Marzano with Lane County’s Waste Management Division, and Eugene’s reigning SLUG Queen, SluGoddessSlimeshine. The winners will be announced on Sept. 4, along with a Viewer’s Choice Award based on the piece that receives the most comments on MECCA’s Facebook page.
In announcing the exhibition, MECCA executive director Heather Campbell said one goal of the show is to “inspire others to reimagine unwanted materials and to use what’s on hand rather than acquiring new materials.”
“The resulting artworks existing in the space where artistic innovation and conservation meet, inspiring us all to think differently about the materials we may consider waste,” she said.
The show is held for the second year at The Lincoln Gallery run by the Oregon Supported Living Program, or OSLP. Mija Andrade, former MECCA director and now director of the OSLP Arts & Culture Program, originated the Object Afterlife Art Challenge.
“I wanted to encourage local artists of varying mediums to challenge themselves to incorporate waste materials into their artwork,” Andrade said in the announcement of the show. “Our first year, we had 27 artists participate. This year, over 100 artists signed up.”
One of the participating artists, Rosio Diaz, was surprised when she opened her Object Afterlife handout to find a large plastic horse in the mix.
“I decided to make an Alebrije, a type of folk art featuring brightly colored creatures with a mix of different animals,” Diaz said in the exhibit’s news release. To the plastic horse, she added elements of indigenous, European and African ancestry, using other recycled materials such as wire hangers and papier maché.
Object Afterlife Art Challenge Exhibit
When: Through Sept. 11
Where: The Lincoln Gallery, 309 W. Fourth Ave., Suite 100, Eugene (in the Whiteaker neighborhood)
Gallery hours: 2 p.m. to 6 p.m on Thursdays and Fridays
Online shows: MECCA’s Facebook and Instagram pages and materials-exchange.org
