Article | Crossing
Another Life - Nicole Charles and Justin Pape
Article | Crossing
Another Life - Nicole Charles and Justin Pape
Article | Crossing
Another Life - Nicole Charles and Justin Pape
Another Life: Rethinking Consumption Through Art
January 24, 2026
Through participation and materiality, Another Life invites a quiet but incisive reflection on consumption and the agency of individual action—principles that resonate with the long-standing ethos of Relative Floor and Walls.
Relative Floor and Walls contributed materials to Another Life, an art installation by Nicole Charles and Justin Pape that foregrounds the environmental and social consequences of overconsumption. Conceived as an open, participatory work, the installation encouraged visitors to attach pieces of fabric to its structure, transforming a personal gesture into a collective act and underscoring how individual choices can accumulate into meaningful change.
The Project
As the artists explain, “We are living in a world of planned and perceived obsolescence, consuming without concern, leading to the endangerment of species and our planet. Coming together as a community affords us more resources and power to create change.” The installation poses an open question: how might we rethink our patterns of consumption and waste?
Developed as a community-driven project, Another Life is composed of more than 90 per cent reused or repurposed materials. Its structure is assembled with screws, allowing it to be dismantled and reconfigured in the future, while its intentionally rough surfaces and visible imperfections speak to the multiple lives a material can inhabit. The fabrics tied to the tusk—manufacturing scraps and textiles reclaimed from previous projects—extend this narrative of reuse and transformation.
The project was made possible through the generous contribution of scrap materials from local companies, including Well and Good (wood and workspace), Relative Floors + Walls (flooring), Notion Manufacturing (fabric), Avery Plewes (fabric), Kotn (fabric), and Holt Renfrew (fabric).
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