Trash to Treasure : Art between Contemporary and Conventional Ecological Practices in Arkhangelsk, Russia

Recycling and solid waste management are a serious problem in the Russian North. The necessary infrastructure, as well as the awareness of the citizens is missing to resolve this problem efficiently. Artists and environmental activists have therefore looked for a way to make people aware of the need for recycling and initiate social change in this regard. The medium that has been chosen by activists and artists alike is art. By involving people in creating an art object or by presenting art to them, the activists and artists hope to initiate awareness concerning our consumption patterns and, like this, show them that recycling is one of many solutions. This thesis should demonstrate how intertwined the connections between the different groups of people, but also with the (art) objects are. This is done by drawing on the actor-network-theory by Bruno Latour as an analytical tool to understand these connections. Key component in this theory, as well as the artist-activist- collective is reassembling. By constantly reassembling people into new projects, as well as household items into art objects, the collective manages to remain visible to the public and to be flexible enough to react to changing needs