For his first UK solo exhibition, New York artist Joe Scanlan transformed the gallery into a mini-processing plant, to produce Paydirt, a high grade potting soil researched and developed by the artist over the last five years. Composed of consumer by-products from the Birmingham area, the soil was repackaged and resold to visitors as part of the exhibition.

Revealing the artist’s preoccupation with the patterns of consumer culture, the project formed part of Scanlan’s ongoing ambition to create a commercial product that is seen as a work of art. A reconciliation between industry and the environment, Paydirt proposes that art can be both meaningful and profitable.

Exhibition supported by Musee d’Art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean, Luxembourg, Winterbourne Botanical Gardens, University of Birmingham and Creative Capital Foundation, New York.