The materiology of junk and scrap

This essay explores the materiology of junk and scrap, focusing on their transformation through welding processes and conceptualizing trash as a time machine. Key elements include waste materials such as junk, wire, screws, locks, pipes, spare bike and machine parts and scrap, which are examined as valuable resources imbued with time through phenomena such as oxidation, rusting and corrosion. In my artistic and scientific work, through welding, pottery, poetry, digital and analogue filmmaking, theatrical productions, collages and writing, I analyse various creative practices as akin processes within materiology. Emphasizing hands-on engagement with materials, my research highlights the tactile aspects of moulding and transforming waste into new forms, in an alchemical process where mundane materials are transmuted into something of value. This interdisciplinary investigation sheds light on the profound connections between art, thought and the materiality of time and everyday detritus. This essay is informed by a year-long personal exploration during which I have engaged in welding and sculpture creation using scrap materials sourced from a neighbour’s garden – a space previously inhabited by the late Michael Lachmund, a painter, sculptor, educator and philanthropist who was also a collector of scrap.