What Trash?

Installation at the University of Lethbridge, April 2019

This installation displayed litter collected from the coulees around the University of Lethbridge campus. It was installed inside the Fine Arts Building along a wall designated for student art exhibitions, viewable from a commonly used staircase. 

Partly born out of anger, I admit, I wanted to draw people's attention to the material waste that spews out of such a large institution like a University, in this case the actual physical product polluting the "natural" areas around the campus. The wind as well, which Lethbridge and Southern Alberta is known for, almost becomes an excuse not to re-collect and pick up this kind of trash as it will forever continue to blow new garbage out and around the city. The bushes in the coulees have evolved a new function as garbage collection sites, as trash gets caught in branches and wraps around trunks. But nets need to get cleaned, and often.