Justene Williams: Making do rhymes with poo

A multi-format project with an Arte Povera attitude, MAKING DO RHYMES WITH POO is an installation with a set constructed from recycled materials, performances and an exhibition. Justene performed a working week over seven days, completing menial tasks with her body that transformed the gallery.

Through her work, Justene Williams deals with conscious and unconscious forms of labour undertaken by the body. The title, MAKING DO RHYMES WITH POO reads as both a way of ‘making do’ with what’s at one’s disposal (a nod to the artist’s working-class upbringing and time spent with her father in his wrecking yard) as well as to describe the automatic labour of ‘making’ with the body, such as defecation or growing hair or nails. The title also points to the history of performance art and artists who have used their bodies and excrement to test limits and possibilities. —Kylie Johnson

"The gallery is the studio and the stage, a space where action, energy, ideas and sounds are produced, made and unmade across the week. Labour is presented as pleasure, play and pain." —Justene Williams

MAKING DO RHYMES WITH POO is an iterative work that was first developed for Te Uru Whitakere Contemporary Gallery, Auckland New Zealand in 2024, curated by James Gatt. It was reimagined in response to the local context, with this iteration developed on-site at CAT.