Recommended Age: All-Ages
What does cardboard make you think of? What can it be used for? Cardboard is a simple, everyday material, and people associate cardboard with many different things, such as shelter, parcel delivery, moving, and recycling. Artist Carlos Bunga uses cardboard to create many of his artworks. By changing the shape, texture, layout, and colour of the cardboard, he helps us see this versatile material in a new light.
In his installation Occupy at MOCA, Carlos Bunga arranged over 500 cardboard boxes into the large landscape-like form you see here, in which visitors are invited to walk around. How would you describe this cardboard landscape?
Carlos Bunga, Occupy, 2020, MOCA Toronto. Courtesy the artist, Galeria Elba Benitez (Madrid) and Alexander and Bonin (New York). Photo by Toni Hafkenscheid.
Carlos Bunga, Occupy, 2020, MOCA Toronto. Courtesy the artist, Galeria Elba Benitez (Madrid) and Alexander and Bonin (New York). Photo by Toni Hafkenscheid.
In the activity below, you can create a miniature cardboard landscape of your own, inspired by Bunga’s work!
You will need:
- Cardboard
- Masking tape or glue
- Scissors
Step 1:
Think about what type of landscape you want to create. Will it be flat or hilly? Textured or smooth? What would you feel, hear, and see if you could walk around on your cardboard landscape? You can sketch out your landscape on paper first to help you plan.
Step 2:
You may need to ask an adult to help you cut bigger pieces of cardboard.
Begin cutting or ripping your cardboard into the shapes you need for your landscape. You may want to use one large piece as your base, and then attach smaller pieces on top. Here are some samples of shapes and textures you can make with cardboard: rolled up tubes, ripped or cut long strips, smooth cut out shapes, and folded triangles. What other shapes and textures can you make with cardboard?
For my landscape, I decided to create a boardwalk going through a field of tall grass. I ripped corrugated cardboard into long strips to represent the grass, and layered cut-out squares into a boardwalk or path shape. I used masking tape to attach the pieces because it sticks to cardboard easily. Here are some photos of my landscape in progress:
Here is my finished piece:
I hope you enjoy this activity! Share your workspace collage on social media and tag us @mocatoronto!
By: Alexandra Brickman, Learning Coordinator at MOCA Toronto