Marketplace a stitch in digital time

ITEMS put up for sale on Facebook Marketplace are often seen as replaceable, are unloved, or simply broken and unwanted.

But now textile artist Lauren Matthews is highlighting some of her bizarre local Marketplace finds in her current exhibition, One Person’s Trash, open for another week at Art Space Ballarat.

With an interest in textile installations, Matthews is reimagining screen grabs of sale posts by bringing her own humourful embroidery to the images.

“About a year ago, I asked my friends to send me things they found,” she said. “I’ve collected so many Facebook advertisements, it’s wild.

“I could do this show 100 times over.”

Items featured include a 3D printed octopus with the face of Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, a pair of odd shoes, broken trampolines, stained couches, ramen seasoning, cigarette lighters, and even medieval stocks.

Matthews said her aim was to present a funny collection, but there’s also a more serious message.

“It looks at waste, society, sustainability, and the way language influences people as well.

“There’s a lot of sexist language on Marketplace, so I’m trying to subvert that, and challenge that,” she said.

“When we say, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure, is it someone’s treasure? Or is it just junk?”

The exhibition has been Matthews’ first opportunity to sell her work, and all gallery decorations have been bought on Marketplace.

She is currently completing her PhD in textiles at Federation University and will be leading social sewing circles for other textile artists in the gallery space this weekend, and next.