Statement:
This project seeks to connect the viewer with the consumption habits they engage through distilling familiar New York City sights in a series of images that are at first glance innocuous, but as a whole are ultimately confrontational, serving to reveal unsavory elements of our collective lifestyle. The eight images show the time line of consumption in New York City: the mass purchasing of goods by consumers, the subsequent waste produced, and the ultimate results and consequences of this consumption. The picture frames in which the items are presented are adorned with gathered materials that reference the image content and the consumption timeline. These items are familiar byproducts and components of our consumption: receipts, shopping bags, trash bags, cardboard box scraps, a dumpster tarp, bottles, etc. The photos were shot on 35mm film with their negatives scanned with dust, dirt, and blemishes intact and unaltered. This coupled with the camera used gives the photos a dreamlike quality, but they are grounded in a stark reality through the items on the frames. Through and through, the project aims to be a raw and relatable means to open discussion on the patterns of consumption we all are a part of.
Below, images arranged in sequential order:
Image 1 – Shoppers at Columbus Circle Mall / Material Used – Reciepts
Image 2 – Shoppers at Columbus Circle Mall / Material Used – Discarded shopping backs
Image 3 – Pile of Cardboard Boxes / Material Used – Discarded cardboard boxes
Image 4 – Dumpster Covered with Tarp / Material Used – Recovered waterproof tarp
Image 5 – Pile of Trash Bags / Material Used – Recovered trash bags
Image 6 – Waste Processing Plant in Greenpoint, Brooklyn / Material Used – Recovered discarded styrofoam
Image 7 – Water Surrounding Waste Processing Plant in Greenpoint, Brooklyn / Material Used – Recovered discarded water bottles
