The Lyall Bay Flotsam and Jetsam collection by Llyr Williams

Llyr Williams is a Te Whanganui-a-Tara based multidisciplinary artist and designer.

“The Lyall Bay Flotsam and Jetsam collection” is an exhibition of furniture and small sculptures based and designed around disregarded objects found at Wellington’s surfing hot spot, Lyall Bay.

Llyr’s process is largely Influenced by working within limitations; having a pre-existing object as a starting point and using this archetype to inform the design and character of a new work.

In this new series, Llyr plays with the notion of perceived value and presents a discussion about true value and what is deemed valuable by society. This dialogue is presented in the context of its surroundings at Hunters and Collectors, a place that, like Llyr’s work, deals with how and who influences whether something is worth keeping or discarding.

The resulting objects become a harmony of old and new, paying homage to the flaws and character of the original objects, while also using complementary materials and forms to give it new aspects of personality and value.

Living not far from Lyall Bay beach, and spending hours surfing and walking the shores, Llyr has accumulated – or hoarded, depending on how you look at it – a plethora of strange and unusual objects from the ocean or found washed up on the shoreline.

For the artist, each piece holds a value and offering: an explored character that is the result of the object’s evolution and life. The change of the original item’s trajectory has meant not only has it been saved from the ocean or landfill, but is now being realised in this new state.