RE:Generation

A collaborative project between artist, designer and filmmaker Rahemur Rahman with students from Years 9 to 12 from Mulberry Stepney Green Maths, Computing and Science College.

Searching their local area of Tower Hamlets for furniture waste to find creative ways of weaving together their own story for the area they reside in. They explore ways their collective creativity can discuss gentrification, sustainability, and community problems in Tower Hamlets using an interdisciplinary approach.

The borough council collected 113,059 tonnes of household waste at a total cost of £27.2 million. By 2031, it is expected that household waste production will rise to 131,000 tonnes. If the increase in the number of collections grows in line with population growth there will be a number of challenges. These challenges will be logistically and in terms of the carbon footprint.

To challenge the community and its creation of waste, Rahemur Rahman is looking to find and explore new ways to highlight how creative education around this can be implemented at community level along with discussions around the increasing population of Tower Hamlets and its impact on climate change.

The sculpture made from furniture waste stands as a recycled viewpoint of the tower blocks of Tower Hamlets. It allows the young people to create through the 6 week programme during the young artist’s lunch hour.

During the project, students created this film in which they discussed the ways gentrification affects how their community lives and produces waste, exploring creative solutions to the issues arising in their area of Tower Hamlets. Audio recordings from the classroom are layered on top of videos from around Tower Hamlets of furniture waste and recycling.

This film is now showing at LCF's John Princes Street site in the reception lobby screen display for the next two weeks from 15 March 2023.