Ongoing Body of Work 2021-present

How do we measure the seemingly benign decisions of convenience we make daily? Where do last year's trends end up? Who doesn't have a growing pile of tangled cords and connectors from obsolete technology? These are the questions that have been surfacing as I dive deeper into our relationship with plastic and realize it's driven by our relationship to things.

Induced Demand, 2024; single-use plastic packaging, fabric, polyester thread
This fine art infographic is a work in progress, growing each time I show it. Using a data set of over 70 years of plastic production, each circle quilt represents the amount of plastic we manufactured globally in a single year. The colorful concentric circles represent the ~40% of that plastic that was made into packaging (shorthand for single-use) and the small black dots associated with each represent the estimated 8% that was recycled.

Year of Plastic, Family of Four, 2021; single-use plastic packaging

2021;
single-use plastic packaging
Most of the materials in this series are discarded long before their useful life is over. By turning them into art objects, I restore their place in our daily lives - in fact, putting them on a pedestal as fine art - and ask pointed questions about what moves us forward as a species. Is it convenience, consumption, and the promise of growth or frugality, creativity, and innovation?

Landlines, 2022;
PTFE (Teflon) tape, discarded telephone and stereo wires, reed

Landlines, 2022;
PTFE (Teflon) tape, discarded telephone and stereo wires, reed

Accumulated Depreciation, 2022; discarded cords, PTFE (Teflon) tape, stereo wire

Why me?, 2022; discarded electric cord, wire, acrylic sheet

Value Size, 2022; single-use plastic, polyester thread

Not Feeling the Love?, 2023; single-use plastic, polyester thread

Party Size!, 2023; single-use plastic, polyester thread, reclaimed fabric; 37" x 48"

One Way Street, 2023; quilted single-use plastic from 172 bags, polyester thread, polyester lining ( image: John Christopher Studio)

Collections of Things II, 2021; PTFE (Teflon) dental floss, "treeless" polypropylene paper

Use Less/Useless I, 2021; PTFE (Teflon) dental floss, "treeless" polypropylene paper

Use Less/Useless I (detail), 2021; PTFE (Teflon) dental floss, "treeless" polypropylene paper

abc, 2021; chewed gum, lacquer tray, acrylic letters