Baiba Soma

Department: Man and Well being
Website: www.baibasoma.com

Expired White

What: Four objects made from white products salvaged from landfills, scrapyards and trash bins.

Why: The colour white has carried a plethora of meanings, not just in art and design, but in our wider culture. White has signified social status, defined beauty standards, expressed purity and perfection. Yet white objects are quickly dumped once they lose their whiteness. Baiba Soma wanted to give these discarded items a second life.

How: By fashioning a shelf, rug, basket and lamp from salvaged washing machine panels, dishwasher parts, coffee machines, phone cables, earphones, computer keyboards and medicine containers. Baiba shows the beauty of once-loved white items that, over time, acquire a new shade of white, and a new meaning.

“White is a non-colour and all colours at the same time”