Home for unwanted plastic bags at LATE NIGHT ART

Matt’s project, House of 9,783 plastic bags / house for the homeless 2 is one of a series of works being created in O’Connell Street by the professional teaching fellow and third year and masters students for LATE NIGHT ART. As well as Matt’s work, there are also projects by students Chelsie Johnston, Gabi Maffey, Paul Roper, Seth Schanzer, and Sharon Shin.

Taking place from 12 noon until 9pm on 9 October as part of Artweek, the project consists of a village of six sites featuring creative and interactive installations.

In preparation for Matt’s house project, his friends and family have been collecting their unwanted plastic bags for the last six months. The house frame is CNC plywood with a cladding and lining of clear polycarbonate sheets. The plastic bags are colour sorted in the framing and then lit from inside with LED lighting to create a lantern of light similar to a stain glass window.

“The construction highlights how architects can use materials destined for land fill in creative ways. With larger recycling initiatives in the community, the plastic bag wall design could be up-scaled to a commercial size,” says Matt.

“We should be brainstorming how to reuse these materials instead of throwing them away.”

As an act of solidarity for the city’s homeless, Matt intends to spend the night inside his plastic bag house.

At the end of Artweek, the house will be transported to the Eastern viaduct, before heading to Matt’s friend’s house in Herne Bay for summer, and then to his parent’s house in Palmerston North, to become a tree house.

To find out more about these projects visit the Urban Art Village.

Auckland Artweek 2018, which runs from the 6-14th of October, also features other projects by staff, students, and alumni from the Faculty of Creative Arts and Industries.

• Changing Lanes
• The Reef
• Yours Sincerely
• Like a boss
• Clean Slate
• Electric Night Tour

Matt’s project is supported by PSP Plastics, SWP Interiors and Angus Muir Design.