The exhibition will consist of hundreds of tiny, individual salt object/landscapes inside of glass bell jars reminiscent of the mountainous, snowy landscape of the area. The bell jars, their contents, and the salt that will be crystallized on those contents will all be reclaimed from trash. This is a prototype made from New York City and Nelson garbage:
The exhibition will be participatory: At any time, gallery visitors can take any of the art pieces as long as they leave something behind of equal or greater value. The value of the individual pieces will not be implied in any way, meaning that each visitor must determine for his or herself its worth compared to the worth of the thing he or she is exchanging it for. Furthermore, any object that anyone leaves behind can also be exchanged for something of equal or greater value. Finally, everything left in the gallery at the end of the show will be given away or shared within a year. The exhibition will mimic a barter-gift economy based on trash. In this way, not only will waste become something of value, it will also produce value when anything of greater value is left behind.
This blog will document the process of making the pieces, including the challenging task of melting and reforming glass jars, reclaiming salt, scavenging for raw materials on garbage day, making the art objects themselves, and finally recording how people interact with the pieces.
Max, The bell jars are so amazing on their own. I can't wait to see the final pieces. I hope there is one left over so we can do a trade...the attic needs a cleaning and i owe you a personal shopper trip to the thrifts of long isle!
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