How many times can you reuse an Iggy's paper bag?

MoMA in NYC has a brown paper bag in its collection, and now the shopping staple has inspired an art exhibition at Iggy's Bread, in the beachside Sydney suburb of Bronte.

The idea was spawned three years ago when artist Andy Marks asked himself how many times he'd be able to reuse one of Iggy's "single use" paper bags without repairing it.

"Every time it was used I'd mark it on the bag. It became a talking point in the queue and in the shop, when I went over 100 with one bag there was cheering, they were giving away free bread," Marks says.

The Marks family used six bags 569 times before the bags became the centrepiece of installation art, titled We All Speak for the Trees.

The recycling warrior (he once led a project in Britain that turned end-of-life hotel bedsheets into hair dryer bags) gives a pointed reminder to treat a precious resource from trees with respect.

"Making paper bags uses a lot of water and energy. And only a small amount of recycled paper can be used [if the bags have a food-related purpose]," he says.

We All Speak for the Trees is on display until July 30.

131 Macpherson Street, Bronte.