Plastic which is clean
Recycling you can see
Having worked with the plastic bag as my primary material for the past fifteen years all of the obvious references to recycling, first world culture, class, high and low art give way to an almost formal process which reflects the unique flexibility of the medium.
Cut like paper, sewn like fabric, these constructions have been presented as flat art (framed or mounted) with crumpled and shiny surfaces that are dulled by dirt and time: un-useful pieces of their former selves. The work is becoming more sculptural; literally folding off of the wall, hinged by discombobulated handles, the real potential of the medium presents itself to me.
The material’s relationship to marketing and advertisement culture is ever present, unavoidable and inherent in my work. The graphic text on the bags often influences the theme of a piece, but just as often disappears into the background of color, almost becoming subliminal in the work.
The somewhat dirty, hands on approach involved in working with what has already become trash and the labor involved in the sewing process directly belie the promise and mythology of convenience that the plastic bag represents. In this juxtaposition lives the alchemy of my work, like the alchemy of plastic itself.