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Sunday, 24 September 2006

Alchemy for the 21st Century

Surrounded by discarded things
we’re too cynical to believe
in a Philosopher’s Stone
too lazy to see the scope

in our base materials
the stuff we throw away
cans and bottles, newspapers, rags
endless plastic bags.

Our Philosophers Stone
is found in thoughts, ideas
crafty skills and inspiration
patience and dedication

to transform waste into the new gold -
groundbreaking art
clothes beyond fashion
crafted with passion.



This poem is until 23 September currently part of the Waste Not Want Not exhibition at the Caledonian Hall at the Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh.

5 comments:

  1. Anonymous6:48 pm

    Cool idea, making trash into art. Here in Peterborough (ON,Canada), we have a really excellent recycling program, but it's still amazing how much gets thrown away. I keep hoping they'll come up with an efficient way to make waste into energy, so we can stop relying so much on hydroelectric and nuclear power.

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  2. Hi desert rat, you're right we need an efficient way to turn rubbish into energy - the problem with incinerators at the moment is that to be efficient they need a constant supply of rubbish, which encourages waste rather than reducing it. The other thing of course is we all need to reduce the amount of rubbish we produce in the first place.....

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  3. i like this piece

    also, you list pf publications is impressive. i visited your web site.

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  4. Thanks camera shy for visiting and commenting!

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  5. Anonymous8:02 pm

    I really enjoyed this one, especially the blending of science and art.

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