Fowler Museum: Gagawaka + Postmortem by Vivan Sundaram

What do doctors do with their gloves and masks when they finish surgery? What do nurses do when the patient does not take the pill? Where does all of this equipment go? The normal response is the garbage. However, Vivan Sundaram has transformed many of these now-useless materials into wearable pieces of art. From surgical gloves to medical braces, Sundaram has created beautiful works of art/fashion while making a statement about the waste that comes from the medical field.


A social activist, one of Sundaram's goals is to address the increase in urban waste, particularly garbage that comes from medical facilities. Some of the materials used for his pieces are found at use on the ground. As such, he made his models literally wear the trash beneath their feet while still making a fashion statement.

A dress made from surgical caps

A dress made from x-ray film

My favorite example of his work was inspired by his wife, whom was recently hospitalized. He made a dress using the films from all of the x-rays taken of her to make a sleek and elegant dress. I see his work, and it is both fascinating and disturbing. As I hope to enter the medical field, his work brings up the question: what should we with our stuff after seeing every patient?