Discards

Discards is a new body of work by Lauren Saunders-Love, created using waste plastic generated through the 3D-printing process. Bringing together drawing, printmaking and sculpture, the exhibition explores the relationship between the human and non-human through materials shaped by human design and machine production. By transforming plastic destined for disposal into new artistic forms, Saunders-Love explores its unexpected beauty, curious shapes and organic qualities, revealing new possibilities within a material often regarded as worthless.

At its heart, Discards questions how we determine value, usefulness and purpose. Drawing connections between the disposal of materials and the marginalisation of neurodivergent people, Saunders-Love challenges assumptions about what is considered useful, valuable or worthy of a place in society. Through the act of repurposing, the work invites us to look again at what has been overlooked or rejected, reconsidering our relationship with the material world and the potential for new meaning in what might otherwise be thrown away.

Lauren Saunders-Love is a visual artist working across multiple disciplines, encompassing print-making, photography, drawing and casting. She continually explores themes of control, loss of control, materials, spaces and usual perspectives across her practice. In 2022, she graduated from the University of Northampton with a first-class BA (Hons) in Photography. In October 2024, she commenced her Master’s degree in Art & Design at the University of Bedfordshire. She lives and works in Bedford and has exhibited frequently in the UK since 2018, including at The Broadway Gallery in Letchworth in 2024 and 2023, twice with Bedford Creative Arts in 2023 and with the NoHat collective at The Panacea Museum in Bedford in 2018. In 2024, Saunders-Love and a fellow artist undertook a major collaborative project exploring the story of the Panacea Society, which culminated in a February 2025 exhibition at The Panacea Museum in Bedford.