Art Work Exeter present: Pile Up! Turning waste into wonder – an exhibition

Their multimedia sculpture takes you to the centre of the machine’s darkly sublime storm – a sculptural entanglement of e-waste and audio-visuals, with a soundscape made with participants of ‘storm machine’ sound workshops using electronics and trash. Dive into the deluge of packaging as it surfs the commodity currents, oscillating between as ominous, thrashy, upbeat and almost-slapstick.

Freya’s artworks conceptually and sculpturally address ideas of imbalance and worth. They approach Exeter Custom House’s role in the systems of commerce within the British Empire, reflecting how historic practices persist in impacting how value is attributed in western society today. The work uses material aspects of our environment that are consciously overlooked or edited out – wastewater, weeds, used plastic – to speak about different forms of worth. They also playfully address the circularity of stuff, highlighting that there is no such thing as ‘waste’ or ‘resource:’ it is all matter, what changes is our own relationship with this material, shifting it out of place. 

The Pile Up! Research process has been generously supported by the staff team at Exeter City Council’s Materials Reclamation Facility and Recycle Devon.

Exeter Custom House. Open daily from 10th – 29th June 2025 (10am – 4.30pm). Entry is free.