Magali Reus turns disposable objects into large-scale sculptures
Dutch artist Magali Reus recreates everyday and often disposable objects, including pizza boxes, sardine tins and fishing lures, at a much larger scale. Her studio contains works in progress for “Swimming By Night,” an exhibition at the Perimeter in London, where familiar items are given altered forms and presented as sculptures with their own visual presence.
Dutch sculptor Magali Reus makes large-scale versions of everyday objects, including pizza boxes, sardine tins and fishing lures.
Her London studio contains sculptures at different stages of completion for “Swimming By Night,” a show at the Perimeter. One work features oversized fish-hook lures designed to resemble cupcake cases or severed skeletal limbs.
Reus said she works in response to a world of extreme consumption and waste, and seeks to give disposable objects autonomy and meaning.
THE QUESTIONS THIS EVENT LEAVES BEHIND
How does enlarging disposable objects change the way viewers understand their use and value?
What determines which everyday objects become subjects for artistic reimagining?
Can artworks about consumption avoid becoming part of the consumption they examine?
What role does unfamiliar scale play in making ordinary objects appear uncanny?
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GLOBAL CURIOSITY MAP · AUGUST 2026