
Barely Wearable: Ruth Downes
Online Exhibition
This body of work is a continuation of Ruth Downes’ passion for reappropriating everyday materials and objects to celebrate their intrinsic beauty. Materials for these thirty ‘wearable’ artworks have been gleaned from a diverse range of sources - from coffee capsules to face masks. Detritus from nature has also been salvaged to be reborn as a fashion statement.
The works question our accepted values and how we award status by projecting these everyday materials into the realm of art. This is more than a simple up-cycling exercise as Downes has an acute awareness of the potential of the materials. Her trademark humour also runs as a thread throughout the exhibition adding a further dimension.
@magamnsw
Exhibition, fashion, installation, jewellery, sculpture

Ruth Downes, Barely Wearable, Exhibition Installation, 2021. Photo: MAGAMNSW
Top Images L-R: Ruth Downes, A Very Close Shave, 2020. Banding Together, 2020. Photos: Courtesy of the Artist.