Artist’s Journal:

I wanted to leave the waste department with a monumental piece of art. I thought about this for many months, and originally I thought I would create an enormous landfill animal spirit for them. But as I worked through my other pieces, I realized that the story wasn’t told through esoteric metaphor and abstraction. It needed to be something more literal and connected to their actual work.

I collaborated with the Department to gather their trash, old flyers, scrapped uniforms, and other refuse just waiting to head to the bin. I then cut and compacted it into the tube, inch by inch, as tight as I could. I fought hard to stuff this tube full, and I reflected on the work that goes into compacting the landfill as I did it.

The tube reflects the department because it is a snapshot of all their materials; it is reminiscent of a geological core sample—a sort of time capsule. I went to the landfill and added some of the fill that was used in Scott’s yard waste project, as well as a hawk feather, as tribute to the predator birds that patrol the skies there.

This piece cannot be ignored. It stands tall, bright, undeniably visible…a visibility that this department usually avoids. When your goal is to be invisible, it is unnerving to be the object of attention. But when I brought the piece to the Department headquarters, staff circled the piece and delighted in the details. They recognized their own uniforms, hats, memos, and other ubiquitous daily objects, made into something that commands attention.

It is an unconventional portrait, to be sure; but I love how it captures the work, dirt, and sweat that goes into the job. I hope they can use this piece as a conversation starter, talking about compaction and airspace, the crisis and the work, the team and the innovation.