AIRSPACE: Understanding the landfill crisis


A series inspired by my year as the Artist in Residence in Government

The AIRG program is designed to incorporate artists into government environments. Artists work with a specific department for a year to incite change and spark new ideas. It’s about finding right-brain solutions to challenges that are typically managed by left-brained teams.

Read more about the Program

Anchor piece

Portrait of a Department
Jordan Danger
8’x2’x2’
Materials: Acrylic tube holding salvaged paper, clothing, and materials from the SWS department.

his piece is the centerpiece of the Airspace series. It’s a portrait of the Solid Waste Services department, built using the same method they use to manage landfill space: compression and vertical stacking.

Every material in the sculpture was discarded by the department itself, making it a literal and symbolic representation of the organization. Visually, it resembles a core sample — layered, dense, and stratified — which also works metaphorically, since both core samples and portraits capture a moment in time.

Learn more.

The Catalogue

  • Stacked crumpled magazine pages with an artwork of a tree and partial moon on top.

    Airspace I

    Salvaged magazines, paper, clothing, barnboard.
    Read more.

  • Mixed media artwork with a painted semi-circle on top and rolled-up newspapers below.

    Buried Sun

    Salvaged magazines, paper, jewellery, found objects, and commercial canvas print.
    Read more.

  • Mixed media artwork featuring layered fabric and textured paint with a color palette transitioning from teal and white at the top to black at the bottom. The piece includes embellishments such as jewelry and various textured surfaces.

    Landscape at Night

    Salvaged magazines, paper, clothing, book pages, jewellery, beads, found objects, stretched canvas.
    Read more.

  • A stack of folded jeans with red, white, black, and blue colors, decorated with small toy and jewelry accessories, positioned under a red-orange painting of a mountain landscape.

    What Makes America?

    Salvaged upholstery, fabric, denim, toys, objects, nail polish, on a discarded floor board.
    Read more.

  • A stack of mixed fabric headbands with various patterns and embellishments, arranged vertically against a plain white background.

    Spring

    Salvaged clothing, book pages, jewellery, nailpolishes, magazines, paper, stretched canvas.
    Read more.

  • Vertical arrangement of pink artificial flowers at the top and crumpled pink metallic material with scattered small objects below, on a white background.

    Material Girl

    Salvaged ‘vegan leather’, cosmetics, nail polishes, extruded 3D printer plastic, on a discarded floorboard.
    Read more.

  • Mixed media art piece made from red duct tape, handwritten text, and various small objects like buttons, on a rectangular surface.

    Red Tape

    Red tape, plastic 3D printing leftovers, saran wrap over text on canvas.
    More details

  • Sculpture of a creature with a humanoid shape, made of dark, textured materials, with a mesh chest filled with colorful objects, and a furry tail at the back, set against a plain light background.

    Racoon: Full Bellies

    Salvaged iron lantern, bedsheets, textiles, and extruded plastic leavings from 3D printing.
    Read more.

  • A sculpture of a creature resembling a dragon, made of dark, textured materials, with long, curved limbs and a long tail on a black stand against a plain white background.

    Coyote

    Salvaged broken lamp, bedsheets, leftover cotton string, faux fur.
    Read more.

  • An abstract sculpture resembling a humanoid figure with large wings and a head, made from textured and weathered materials, mounted on a metal stand.

    Crow

    Salvaged broken lamp, bedsheets, curtains, leftover cotton string, faux fur.
    Read more.

  • Sculpture of a dog with an elongated neck, made of textured, painted materials resembling bronze and wood, sitting on a white cloth-covered surface.

    Fox

    Salvaged broken lamp, bedsheets, leftover cotton string, faux fur.
    Read more.

  • A sculpture of a bird, resembling a crow or raven, made from tattered and distressed fabric with a speckled gray beak, mounted on a gold-painted stick, displayed on a white circular stand.

    Gull

    Salvaged broken lamp, bedsheets, leftover cotton string, faux fur.
    Read more.

  • A sculpture of a humanoid figure with wings, made from dark, shiny material, standing on a white base against a plain background.

    Vulture

    Salvaged broken lamp, bedsheets, leftover cotton string, faux fur.
    Read more.

  • Colorful cowboy boots with a patchwork design, featuring pink, gold, blue, and purple hues, and star motifs, placed against a plain white background.

    Rockstar Boots

    Discarded workboots, metallic leaf Read more.