The stark white clean-cut walls that surround the atrium create a startling contrast against the exhibit within them. Standing in the middle of the room is a massive array of household objects encircling a rickety, dirty house. It is a feast for the eyes spanning 3,000 square feet. Upon viewing it, the question can't help but pop into your mind, "What the heck is this doing in an esteemed art museum?" However, just as every contemporary artist seems to, Song Dong, who has been at the forefront of conceptual art in China since the 1990s and the creator of "Waste Not", has a meaning behind his madness.

Song Dong's cultural influence for this piece flows from his parents' experiences as well as his own. Song's parents grew up in a period which Wu Hung, a specialist in Chinese art, says was characterized by "the shortage of goods, the anxiety instigated by political instability, and the traditional virtue of frugality" causing "people [to save] everything for future use, including junk." These values have spanned generations but Hung says "this exhibition is the first attempt to represent and reflect upon this kind of historic experience through contemporary art."

This piece was fueled by the ridiculous habits Song's mother, Zhao Xian Yuan; fell into after the death of Song's father. After Song's father's passed away Zhao refused to dispose of anything, insisting that it would all become useful one day. Zhao kept everything from child's dolls and stuffed animals even though Song Dong and his sister, Song Hui, had already grown into adults, to numerous empty toothpaste tubes. Song Dong interpreted this "need to fill the space with these daily life objects more as a need to fill the emptiness after [his] father's death." Song's goal was to "pull [his] mother out of her isolated and grief stricken world." He resolved that the only way to do this would be to erase them completely out of her sight. When Song finally took his house and everything in it and displayed it for the first time in The Beijing Gallery (2005), his mother was content and playfully remarked "See Song Dong, everything is useful".

Since Song Dong's entry into the art, he has also become known for his delectable edible art. Song Dong makes cities, mountains, and other structures out of tantalizing foods including meats, chocolates, cookies and gingerbread. He always invites the viewers to consume his work, commenting on the destruction and creation of civilizations.

Song Dong has left a mark with his compelling artwork "Waste Not" which simultaneously shows the struggles of a family trying to let go of its grief and the struggles of a nation trying to survive after so much deprivation. When asked how he could stand watching his edible art being destructed Song Dong replied "I love it! After all, everything has a beginning and an end".

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