30 Second Flash of E-Waste in NYC
A testament to global sameness and
affluenza induced conduct, the
Babel Waste Capital up-cycles what
the city throws away. Styrofoam
packaging is collected from the
neighborhood and erected as a tower
in a few short hours. This sculpture
represents an extension of a city
reconstituted from its own refuse
materials.
The star form represents a single 30
second flash of Styrofoam e-waste
produced in New York City from
packaging materials for new
refrigerators, microwave ovens,
speakers, vacuum cleaners, and other
electrical appliances. Our city
disposes of heavy volumes of
consumer e-waste daily. This project
rethinks and upcycles what the
people throw away. Styrofoam
packaging was collected from local
neighborhoods and transformed into
a didactic installation. The aim is to
confront the public with the trash our
city produces in just moments. In the
future, we shall make no distinction
between waste and supply. Here
waste is upcycled into usable systems
for building or sculptural folly.
Exhibited at the Metropolitan
Museum of Art with DJ Spooky and
Terreform ONE as: "Of Water and Ice
- A Concert of Compositions Based
on Water and Arctic Rhythms" in
Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium.
Also shown at New Museum, Ideas
City street fair: An installation made
from discarded styrofoam rises in front
of Raumlabor's Spacebuster, a
mobile inflatable pavilion
commissioned by the Storefront for
Art and Architecture.