Exhibition four: 22 March – 8 May 2026
Bhavesh Bhuthadia
Bags Not
Piha Cleanstone, pins, foil wrappers from food bought at the dairy, 2026
To ‘bags’ something is to lay claim to it. To ‘bags not’ is the opposite – you don’t want it and it’s left for the last person who missed making the anti-claim in time.
Growing up and working in the dairy, one of the last queries we would share with customers is whether they would like their groceries in a bag “Would you like that in a bag?”
I find it ironic that though plastic bags aren’t circulating as much as what they used to – they have been replaced with more durable bags that are still made from plastic (non-woven polypropylene). And also that so many groceries are packaged in plastic. I feel the term ‘bags not’ fits in well with the irony and conundrum of our relationship with plastic.
On install day I shouted treats from Nikau Superette for friends and locals and we used the packaging from them to create the ‘BAGS NOT’ text. Friends and community members also got involved in this part too. The black backing board is made from recycled plastics to share how plastic can be looked at and what it can become.
The work is a part of an ongoing exploration of handmade, typographic experiments and participatory art activities over more than a decade.
Bhavesh is a multi-disciplinary artist and designer from Waitakere, Tāmaki Makaurau
IG: @creativebhav