Tai Snaith’s ‘Sweet Obsolete’ seeks to find its way in the dark, between the tumultuous onslaught of the never-ending production of consumerist culture, and the personal, nostalgic and often sweet connections we have with the products of this suicidally self-destructive and unsustainable model.

We all ‘like things, I like things, I like things a lot’¹ but can we really fight the psychological hold that ‘the ikea nesting instinct’² has over us if we simply ‘give it away’³ as RHCP suggest?

Snaith treads gently and cautiously: examining artefacts, documenting them, and exploring how these, ‘things’¹, relate to each other and whether they can give each other new meaning and value, outside of attributing to the worlds ever growing collection of material objects and inevitable trash. Snaiths sensitive recreation of these items in watercolour, gouche and ink, find them new homes as stepping stones to our own memories and personal forgotten histories. 

Ace Wagstaff, 2013.

¹ Creed, Martin. 1999.  I like things. On Covers. 2003.

² Fincher, David. (Director), Chuck Palahniuk (Writer/Novel), Jim Uhls (Writer/Screenplay). 1999. Fight Club [Motion picture].

³ Red Hot Chilli Peppers. 1991. Give It Away. On Blood Sugar Sex Magic. 1991.