When you look at something, you never really think about where it is in its place at the time. Liz Magor sees this, and in her own words says, "there are many things that live in this world, in this neither zone this non-zone, this not needed zone. And so, I pay attention to these things, and through that effort, I'll change their status, 'll resurrect them." She does this by taking things, old things, not needed things and casts them, making molds of ordinary things discarded. The cycle of the object begins again.
She takes these casts of humble objects, or repurposes found objects and gives them life again, which also speak to the mortality of all existence. We use things, we discard things, but they can have another purpose. One which elevates them and captures a moment and a time. Based in Vancouver, Canada, this artist is well known for the sculptures that Magor makes that address these themes of history and survival simply by repurposing simple objects. In a way, this categorizes the way Magor views things and how people in general value things.
In her own words, she says, "There's a give and a take; every object gives something to us, and it takes wear and tear. Then it comes out the other end, called the waste stream. Even the waste stream doesn't quit; there's still somebody trying to sell something that's completely worn out for a nickel". This idea of a system and its eventual collapse into something else speaks to the artist and gives Magor inspiration when she walks on the beach or goes to the thrift store. In turn, the art that Magor makes repurposes it into something more, taken from time and rewound but available now. Eventually, Magor puts these repurposed and found things back into a box and turns them into a sculpture, elevating the object's simple status into a maker that transcends time and space. The cycle then continues. It captures the essence and the facility of that object and allows us to see it in a new light, in this way, it survives in our memories.
