In Waste Not, Chinese artist Song Dong presents an installation comprising more than 10,000 items collected by his mother. [Jin Yan / for China Daily]

Saving and re-using things is in keeping with the Chinese adage wu jin qi yong - waste not - a prerequisite for survival during periods of social and political turmoil.

Waste Not, the first major exhibition in the UK by the Chinese artist Song Dong, a poignant meditation on family life and the artist's own childhood during the "cultural revolution" (1966-76), presents an installation comprising more than 10,000 items collected by Song's mother, Zhao Xiangyuan, in more than five decades - ranging from a section of the family home, to metal pots and plastic bowls to blankets, bottle caps, toothpaste tubes and toys.

Song Dong focuses on avant-garde installations. His work covers conceptual interests that combine photography, installation and video.

Coming from a Beijing-based avant-garde performance art community, Song's work explores ideas of perception, transience and the ephemeral nature of existence.

Date: Till June 12

Venue: Barbican Center, Silk Street, London

Website: http://www.barbican.org.uk