By Rebecca Meiser
Imagine walking past a stack of orange water coolers, styrofoam containers, a green planter, and a plastic sink basin—and suddenly seeing a towering monument: a sculpture that transforms discarded everyday objects into something enduring and poetic. That’s the experience of Lauren Yeager’s Longevity Monument, an eight-foot column that reimagines what we throw away as material worthy of attention.
Thea Spittle, SPACES Curatorial
Coordinator
Yeager is a conceptual sculptor whose work elevates the overlooked. In Longevity Monument, scratches, fingerprints, and imperfections tell stories of the objects’ prior lives, yet together they form a precise, balanced structure that commands attention.
Now at SPACES, the piece continues to challenge perceptions, prompting audiences to reconsider what we discard, what we value, and how everyday objects can hold lasting significance.
Below, SPACES Curatorial Coordinator Thea Spittle shares insight into Yeager’s process and the impact of the work.
Canvas: Can you tell us the background of the piece?
Spittle: Lauren Yeager’s Longevity Monument continues the artist’s interest in using salvaged plastic materials to create sculpture. By referencing classical and modernist sculptural forms, Yeager elevates the value of objects she sources from tree lawns and sidewalks, stacking and balancing them into pillars, monoliths, and monuments.
What makes the piece noteworthy?
Spittle: The piece was created specifically for the group exhibition Everlasting Plastics, which premiered in 2023 at the US Pavilion at the Venice Biennale of Architecture. The exhibition was co-curated by then SPACES Executive Director, Tizziana Baldenebro, and independent curator, Lauren Leving. Everlasting Plastics explores the cultural ubiquity of plastic and the ways in which our reliance on the material has shaped a fraught, yet enmeshed, kinship. Longevity Monument was one of thirteen sculptures that Yeager created for the exhibition, forming a sculpture park in the graveled entrance to the US Pavilion.
What response does the piece create for the viewer?
Spittle: The viewer will easily recognize the raw materials used in Longevity Monument, which are now stacked together referencing classical architecture: a monument. This familiarity is a sure entry point to the work. But what happens when we look past the coolers and styrofoam, and begin to view the sculpture as one unified form? Viewers are encouraged to consider the timelessness of plastic, how this material is made from fossilized organic material that decomposed millions of years ago, and is now turned into a raw material that can be thrown away in the blink of an eye. Yeager’s piece enables us to stand in the murkiness of discomfort with our trash, reflecting back to us a different way of seeing.
Longevity Monument (2023) by Lauren Yeager is an 8 foot vertical stack of different colored plastic objects, including orange water coolers, styrofoam containers, a green plastic planter, and a plastic sink basin.
Photo / Jacob Koestler / Courtesy of artist and Abattoir Gallery
How do the materials used add to the overall feeling of the piece?
Spittle: Since Longevity Monument is formed out of previously-used commonplace and everyday objects, the materials show traces of their life before being salvaged. The styrofoam elements have hand prints and dirt, the water coolers have scratches, and the planter has a hole. This suggests a connection to the lifecycle of the materials themselves, and the transformative power of changing the context of how something is being used. Yeager arranges each object with as much precision as someone sculpting a form out of stone, keeping in mind the relationship of contours, shape and scale.
What was happening at the time that might have influenced the artist?
Spittle: Since this work premiered at the Venice Biennale, at the US Pavilion, Yeager may have been influenced by the neoclassical architecture of the building, hence creating this classical monument. With the intent of creating a sculpture park, Yeager was committed to each sculpture having a different height and scale, creating a diversity of sightlines throughout the installation.
What makes this a notable work from the artist?
Spittle: Longevity Monument is the second tallest sculpture in the series. Its tapering, hourglass form reflects the playful arrangement of its raw materials. The piece also includes a plastic green planter that was intentionally made to look like stone, a typical material for many monuments.
What else should we know about this piece?
Spittle: Longevity Monument has an internal steel rod, which acts as the armature for the piece, ensuring each element stays in place and is level. Although the objects are made out of plastic, the piece is quite heavy. SPACES is the third exhibition venue where this piece has been shown, after the Venice Biennale and the Carnegie Museum of Art.
