Beth McCubbin: Material World

McCubbin has composed a series of single works and a site-specific installation, speaking to the impact of human production on our environment. Material World builds on McCubbin’s interest in social and environmental issues. This recurring theme of found objects becomes a visualization of a contemporary experience that we all share.

McCubbin states, “My artworks focus on social and environmental issues. I seek to represent the alternative, the over-looked, the forgotten, and perhaps often, the undesirable. For the most part in my artistic practice, I utilize clay, concrete, and found objects. I choose to use these materials for specific reasons: clay is malleable, bending in limitless ways under a sculptor’s hands, yet retains its ancient essence. Concrete gives my work a sense of familiarity and accessibility in its commonness. As a sculptor, concrete is also a ‘practical’ material as it allows me to build large-scale sculpture without the financial cost other materials (such as stone or clay) would require. ‘Recycling’ found materials into my artwork allows the objects themselves to tell a story about human use and disuse.”

Beth McCubbin recently moved to Gatineau, Québec. Previously she lived and worked in Peterborough where she was actively involved in the arts community for twenty years, including the operation of The Blue Tomato Art Shop & Gallery downtown. She was born in Montréal and lived between there and Toronto throughout her childhood. McCubbin has travelled extensively across Canada, the US, Mexico and Europe.

McCubbin has recorded short artist talks on each segment of this installation: plastic cloud, concrete figures and boxes of truths. Learn more about the project.