Katherine Earle

Trash Weavings

In my encounters with garbage, I am most interested in where we think our garbage goes. Our relationships with the discardable are very ephemeral, with very little thought put into how it came to be in our possession, and what will become of it once it is discarded. Everything that exists, even the manmade, is created with elements from the Earth. Yet we often fail to show respect to our planet and the ways it provides for us when it comes to honoring the items that pass through our lives, nor recognizing the harm that transpires through disposing of them. This series of weavings is inspired by the dirtiest city in the nation where I live, and made from found street detritus. Each piece is named after the block the trash was retrieved from. This series is an interactive conversation between the street and the loom, and a symbolic gesture towards reconsidering the value of what we collectively consider to be discardable.