Tucked in the lower level of the Overture Center is a hidden gem. A hallway is lined with vintage clothing, plastic bag art and plastic sculptures. A curtain made up of bottles, food containers, milk cartons, plastic sleeves and other disposable items hangs on one wall.

“Garbology: What We Throw Away” is a temporary art exhibit in the Overture Center’s Playhouse Gallery celebrating the work several artists have created with items that others would normally throw away. The exhibit opened in late August and will remain open until Nov. 26, 2023.

Artist Mackenzie Madison put together several portraits for the exhibit made up of plastic bags, with a different color for their hair, face, scarf and mask.

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Another artist, Pat Kroth, spent two and a half years of the COVID-19 pandemic stockpiling plastic packaging materials for a curtain of recyclables called “Plastic Peril.”

Kroth explains in the statement beside the painting that “how we assign value to things” is an interesting topic. Sometimes humble items are more valuable than one might think.

“Created on site from recycled, and cast-off materials, Plastic Peril explores the notion of need, want, excess and waste in our society and perhaps adds a smile as we grapple with these daunting issues,” Kroth said.

The City of Madison arts and culture coordinator Karin Wolf said they wanted to encourage people to think about important global issues. Wolf was part of the discussion with the Arts and Literature Laboratory in deciding on artists to feature.

“People need to be more educated about how they can reuse and properly recycle their material waste, but it also is reflective of what the whole globe is going through right now with our climate crisis,” Wolf said.

Wolf said she wants people to walk away from the exhibit thinking differently about their practices surrounding recycling and waste.

The work for this exhibit was done in partnership with City of Madison Recycling. Recycling coordinator Bryan Johnson said he appreciates the exhibit as an alternative way to incentivize recycling for those who visit the exhibit.

“Hopefully their takeaway is ‘Oh, my God, like, that’s in my house,’” Johnson said. “‘Like my choices do that too,’ and like ‘how do I do something different if I don’t want it to do that.’”

The exhibit was done to coincide with the play “The Garbologists,” which is a comedy about people literally driving a garbage truck. The play’s message is that there is more value to things that the world might discard on the surface.

Co-director at Arts and Literature Laboratory Jolynne Roorda helped coordinate the exhibit and artists. Roorda said Forward Theater Company, which is presenting “The Garbologists,” reached out to the Arts and Literature Lab to collaborate on art to go with the play.

“What’s wonderful about these interdisciplinary collaborations is that the community gets to experience more individual’s interpretations of the subject matter,” Roorda said in an email statement to The Badger Herald. “In theater, you already have the playwrights, directors, actors and everyone else involved in the production contributing to the experience. Involving visual artists to share their work further deepens our shared exploration of complex themes.”

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Wolf said it is exciting to see collaborations like this because it brings people together to spread the word about important civic issues like climate change. She explained that it’s easy for people to toss something away and not think about it, but the play and exhibit are opportunities for people to pause and reflect.

And the exhibit has that effect. The room is quiet. The art pieces are complex, causing people walking through the exhibit to stop and analyze them.

A colorful panel covers one wall and it’s easy to wonder what its purpose is. “About the future (Dreaming)” by TetraPAKMAN is made of reclaimed plastic structures and zip ties.

The description says the piece is about community, collaboration and working as a collective to build the future. Different groups of kids from local community centers contributed to the project and creation of the piece.

Recycled clothing made of different materials and designs hangs on another wall, reminding people of restoration and the ability to make something new out of something old and seemingly unusable. The vibrant colors and creative designs of the clothing are appealing and eye catching.

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Electrical wires are strung together on a table creating ambiguous figures, called “Freedom,” “Lady Luck” and “Queen,” all done by Sonia Valle. There is no explanation for these works so it is up to the viewer’s interpretation if they want to assign them political, cultural or religious value beyond the art.

And that’s the value of the exhibit. The unique designs and materials are meant to evoke thought and spark action surrounding the meanings behind the pieces — all designed to demonstrate there is value beyond the surface.