Victoria Reichelt: The horrors of disposable food containers – Art Basel Hong Kong 2019

Australian artist Victoria Reichelt unveiled a series of oil on linen works at Art Basel Hong Kong 2019 that caught the viewer’s eye, both in the angles depicted within piles of disposable items used for take away food orders and also in how these – when left unattended – compound environmental waste.

Indeed, Reichelt uses the word “horror” in each of her pieces, and it is this sentiment that emerges from the viewer’s gradual realization, the longer he or she stares at these works composed as 2-D art instead of 3-D sculptures. Whether showcasing towers of familiar, yet curiously shaped, boxes from Chinese takeout joints; styrofoam trays; SOLO Red American Party Cups; or black corrugated cups for hot drinks, Reichelt succeeds in subtly challenging the actions of those who may have previously perceived these items as mere disposable rubbish, their brief attention to these mundane objects shifting elsewhere as soon as they are tossed into the trash can.