When Rubbish Becomes Art
Could you imagine relaxing in seven days of your own rubbish?
Well, that’s just what Gregg Segal’s Californian neighbours, friends and strangers did! They rested in piles of their own rubbish that they collected over a period of seven days for Gregg’s photography series entitled ‘7 Days of Garbage’. Fitting that this series of life-size portraits now adorn the walls of The City Bin Co.’s offices, both in Dublin and the HQ in Galway – as a stark reminder of the dangers of a throwaway society.
Segal’s photography makes you sit up and think because the content seems so contradictory. The small volume of waste becomes big over time – imagine a month’s worth? A year? The ugliness of the waste collected over time becomes striking in the composition. You see the unnatural materials against the natural human body. The rubbish becomes art.
The photographs are a visual index of the waste that we, as humans, produce over time. It shows our changing diet patterns and the volume of packaging we seem to need to feel good about what we purchase and consume. The images were headlined in some news outlets as shocking, but we believe they are inspiring and thought-provoking. These photos deliver real statistics with a visual impact.
