Sacrifice +  Bliss: Aurora Robson
September 9, 2012 – April 28, 2013

Aurora Robson is an artist, eco-activist and advocate for plastic pollution awareness. Her ethereal artwork is made predominantly of discarded material— primarily plastic bottles and debris collected from the waste stream. Robson transforms this material into intricate sculpture, installation and collage.

Ten of Robson’s large-scale sculptures, including several new works, will be displayed throughout the Conservatory and immersed within plant collections indoors and out. An installation will be created onsite during Robson’s summer residency at the Conservatory, made of debris gathered during a volunteer river cleanup. In addition, an exhibit of Robson’s paintings, collages and smaller works will be on view in the Cardinal Health Gallery.

Related programming, including interactive educational components and community projects, will enhance the exhibition experience while raising awareness about  environmental sustainability.

Be a part of the exhibition!
Complete a conservation project at your school, with your scout troop, or as a family or other group. Document your project through pictures, video, letters, testimonials and other media, and share your success in a special exhibit featuring local volunteer conservation projects from Sept 9 - Nov 11, 2012. Learn more.

About Aurora Robson
Aurora Robson is a multi-media artist known predominantly for her transformative works interrupting the waste stream via plastic debris, excess packaging and junk mail. A Canadian, Robson was born in Toronto in 1972, but she has lived and worked in New York City for the past 21 years. Robson grew up on Maui, in Hawaii where she developed a profound appreciation for nature. Her work has been featured in Art in America, Art & Antiques magazine and most recently on the cover of Green Building + Design magazine. A "subtle yet determined environmental activist", Robson has exhibited all over the United States and Europe. She earned a B.A. in visual arts and art history at Columbia University where she graduated with high honors in 2000. She has taught photography, welding & sculpture and frequently gives lectures and talks around the country. As an advocate for plastic pollution awareness, Robson is the founding artist of Project Vortex, an international collective of artists, designers and architects who also work with plastic debris. When she isn't busily working in her studio, she can be found contemplating the universe with her husband and daughters.

Robson first encountered the term "sacrifice and bliss" in The Power of Myth by Joseph Campbell. It resonated with her as a parent, wife, artist and environmentalist. “Environmentalists know the meaning of sacrifice and bliss as they sacrifice common indulgences to preserve the bliss of experiencing life on earth as we know it. The connection between life and death, growth and decay, positive and negative, light and dark, it is the essence of existence,” says Robson.

Image above left:
Up Drop, detail, plastic debris sculpture, 2010 - Aurora Robson

Image above right:
Be Like Water, detail, plastic debris installation, 2010 - Aurora Robson

For more information about Aurora Robson, please visit her website.

Check back in the coming months for more details about Sacrifice + Bliss and related programs.