This is image is part of a series called Recycled. I used a flat bed scanner to make images of objects and materials we regularly dispose of.

Artist Statement

Pollution, global warming, excess and abuse are all topics that we deal with daily. I am very concerned with these issues at moments and yet, as the rest of my culture, I tend to look away or excuse myself from the responsibility of dealing with them. In this project I seek to materialize this process of ignorance or neglect.
Often times we see these detrimental issues as things to make news and conversation over, not things that we need to invest in or make changes to. We find ways to make money from the negative actions we have already committed rather than making effective, global changes.
In a way, I carry out this same process in my images. I turn something used into something new and beautiful. I compose trash into an image that we want to look at and admire rather than feel embarrassed or ashamed of.
My images are meant to be pleasing to the eye. They are new visions of everyday objects. However, they ARE trash. This creates tension. Something that is supposed to be thrown away and hidden so no one has to look at it is displayed in a positive light and very large so that you want to admire it. It is this confusion and contrast that I want my viewers to experience.