Gallery: Monuments Made of Trash Remind Us to Treat Earth More Kindly
Photos by Jeremy Underwood01plastic-recycled-art-jeremy-underwood
Jeremy Underwood's ongoing photo series Human Debris repurposes found trash into site-specific sculptures.
Photos by Jeremy Underwood02debris-wood-art-Jeremy-Underwood
The sculptures can take several days to produce. After the final shutter click, they're left to be removed or rot away.
Photos by Jeremy Underwood03beach-wood-art-Jeremy-Underwood
Some of the sculptures imitate organic forms---this structure was inspired by a shell Underwood found on the beach.
Photos by Jeremy Underwood04trash-art-jeremy-underwood
Underwood built the sculptures without any formal background in construction or fabrication. "It is an organic process," he says, "With lots of failures. But once in a while, everything comes together in balance, form and concept. That is what makes it all worthwhile."
Photos by Jeremy Underwood05plastic-bottle-art-Jeremy-Underwood
Underwood first set about making the sculptures after moving to Houston three years ago, and discovering a particular beach where the garbage seemed to collect. Each image was shot at the same beach.
Photos by Jeremy Underwood06recycled-art-jeremy-underwood
Sometimes Underwood returns to find the sculptures have drawn a crowd. Other times they've been removed---at least in that case, the effect is essentially to remove trash from the beach.
