30" x 40"
Each and every minute the equivalent of one garbage truck worth of plastic is dumped into the ocean. Uncontained Consumption is a series of photographic images transforming dumpsters into oceans.
Instead of bits and pieces of waste coming together to form floating garbage patches and underwater landfills, each piece in this series was created by combining bits and pieces of dumpster walls, turning oceans into dumpsters both literally and figuratively. Grease stains dissolve into beautiful ocean blue hues; grime found along the bottom of a dumpster is transformed into sandy shores; paint splatter is converted into white sea foam.
Carried by wind and water runoff, improperly discarded trash such as cigarette butts, balloons, and lightweight plastic wrappers, find their way into the ocean. Eventually this trash either becomes a sea of microplastics, forms underwater landfills, gets carried by ocean currents into floating garbage patches, or is consumed by marine life.
Inspired by photographs taken from the shores of the United States, Uncontained Consumption is a glimpse into the future of our oceans if we continue to use them as trash receptacles. We are turning our oceans into dumpsters.