We are living in an open edition
‍2018-2021

"A commodity appears, at first sight, a very trivial thing, and easily understood. Its analysis shows that it is, in reality, a very queer thing, abounding in metaphysical subtleties and theological niceties."

Karl Marx, Capital, Volume One


Various species of trash, among other artifacts of contemporary life, serve as proxies for the human gestures that create, crush, crumple and convert these mechanically reproduced copies into originals. Each pack of Newports begins indistinguishable from another but one touch with a user renders each vessel quintessentially unique. I collect the discard packs and document them in my studio using a hyper-real process called focus stacking to highlight its transformation. The actions retained in the distorted forms offer a simple conclusion—the difference between samples does not disprove the similarity of behaviors but rather emphasizes the connected nature of participants and presents an opportunity to commune with the user. An investigation into our remains, reunited as images, recognizes the recursive nature of human behavior and indicates a point from which we can and recalibrate our systems of value.
‍
What do you think?