Leftovers Project – About the Project
The Leftovers Project is a critical design practice that explores food-based waste through sculpture, collage and video. Inspired by the work of Dunne & Raby, the project embraces design as a thought experiment rather than utility, aiming to provoke reflection on consumption, waste, and pedagogy. By experimenting with discarded food packaging and scraps, I created artifacts that disrupt everyday habits and invite embodied, emotional engagement. Through solo making and public exhibits, the project blends critical design with an emphasis on play, accessibility, and visual storytelling as powerful alternatives to traditional research and education. This methodology later informed the development of a workshop series, the Eat, Make, Waste Project, which integrates public pedagogy with critical design.
Dinner gatherings celebrate the pleasures of food—but rarely the packaging. This video re-centers food packaging as part of the consumption ritual. Much like our bodies digest what we eat, the packages are handled, ripped, and broken down at the table. These gestures draw attention to the overlooked life of packaging and highlight its role in shaping modern food culture. By making the waste visible and tactile, the video invites reflection on what we consume and discard, and how design can challenge the norms of value, visibility, and material engagement.
A sculpture of leftovers.
A collage of take-out containers