For his first solo exhibition in a major UK public gallery, Chinese artist Song Dong recreates his monumental work,Waste Not, in The Curve. Comprising over 10,000 items collected by Song Dong’s mother over five decades, ranging from a section of the house to metal pots and plastic bowls to blankets, bottle caps, toothpaste tubes and toys, the installation is a personal meditation on family and the artist’s own childhood during the Cultural Revolution. The activity of saving and reusing things is in keeping with the Communist adage wu jin qu yong – ‘waste not’ – a prerequisite for survival during periods of social and political turmoil. 

Song Dong "Waste not" installation at MoMA, 2009

Song Dong "Waste not" installation at MoMA, 2009