Trash Towers

The Trash Towers (made with recycled trash and paint) are, in essence, three-dimensional paintings. I have great admiration for the sustainable art and architecture that I have discovered on my travels, such as: Japanese Boro – textiles, made from recycled fabric that has been patched or mended; Houses in Fustat, Egypt built by garbage collectors with clay, broken pots and oil cans; and the architecture in Phonsavan, Laos made from recycled missile and bomb casings (remnants from the USA's "Secret War" in Laos). The use of these throwaway, mundane materials to create beautiful textiles and dwellings, I find both inventive and heroic. In creating the Trash Towers, recycled materials were obtained from a community trash pick-up, personal trash, and discarded cardboard shipping materials. The painted surfaces of the Towers both conceal and reveal the archeology of cultural debris, as materials and process are exposed through transparent layers of paint. The sculptures suggest architectural forms while also having anthropomorphic associations. These forms, in dialogue with one another, create visual conversations about balance and community, implying a wide range of metaphoric associations.