Respectful Disposal Exhibition
| Dates: | 25 July 2026 - 26 July 2026 |
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| Times: | 12:00 - 12:00 |
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| What is it: | Exhibitions |
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| Organiser: | School of Environment, Education and Development |
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| Who is it for: | University staff, Adults, Alumni, Current University students, General public |
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| Speaker: | Mark Shtanov |
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Donated bodies, imported into the UK for biomedical research, ultimately reach industrial incinerators - but who performs this disposal work, and how?
Building on Mark Shtanov's PhD work, 'Respectful Disposal' explores the overlooked intersection of biomedicine and waste infrastructure through large format drawings and three-dimensional objects. Zooming into infrastructural rituals through an architectural lens, the exhibition asks broader questions: How do people become materially disposable? What infrastructural labour does our healthcare system depend upon?
Speaker
Mark Shtanov
Role: PhD researcher
Organisation: University of Manchester
Biography: Mark Shtanov is a UK-qualified architect and a doctoral researcher due to complete his PhD at the University of Manchester in 2026. Mark’s PhD uses drawings to examine the disposal of imported anatomical specimens at British waste incinerators. The project demonstrates the importance of waste labour and infrastructure for the global economies of human tissue and healthcare. Alongside his research Mark has developed no.balsa – a model-making approach, grounded in co-creation and thinking through doing. Using this approach Mark has run experimental model making workshops for architecture students, artists and non-specialist communities across the UK and internationally. Mark completed his MPhil at the University of Cambridge between 2016 and 2018, focusing on community-led hospitality education in West Africa. His MPhil thesis, Another Hotel in Africa, received a commendation at the RIBA President's Medals in 2018.
Travel and Contact Information
Find event
Saan1 Gallery
5 Kelvin Street
Manchester
