Give and Take, HS Projects, Solo Exhibition, London
Give and Take brings together, for the first time, a significant group of Clare Burnett’s mosaic works. At its heart is an examination of our patterns of acquisition: what we gather deliberately or on impulse, what drifts into our lives unnoticed, and what we choose not to see.
Burnett works with everyday objects collected from streets, markets, kitchens, and gardens. Each carries its own history and associations. Reconfigured and covered in glass tiles, these objects gain new meanings, creating resonances beyond the gallery into domestic and public life.
The Whisperers, Swivel and Standing Proud reflect on surveillance and the pervasive reach of data-driven observation. A Thousand Threads and Into the Light consider displacement and the history of plants brought from China in the 19th century that have become part of the English country garden. Using household objects, most of the sculptures including Up in Smoke and Game Set and Match trace plastic’s global journey into our homes. Opposite the lifts, paintings continue these themes depicting cameras, eyes and lenses watching over the building.
Together, these sculptures and paintings explore the forces that drive global trade, historical ‘acquisitions’, consumerism and convenience. Their polished surfaces offer clarity, while beneath lie hidden stories, fragmented histories, and difficult questions. This tension between what is displayed and what remains unseen extends outward, connecting the gallery to the city, the museum, and the home.
