The Trash Map
by LAST NIGHT’S GARBAGE, illustration by DIANA KOLSKY
If architecture reflects the history of a neighborhood, then what reflects the history of its inhabitants? Block by block, driveway by driveway, every morning the remnants of our consumption create beauty in the formation of line, volume, color and texture. These ephemeral street sculptures are a glimpse into our wants, needs and aspirations. More then just waste, garbage is the societal fossil that uncovers layer upon layer of nondisposable artifacts. In beauty or disgust, garbage is indeed, a reflection of ourselves.
1. Corrugated Boxes, Hell’s Kitchen / 2. McDonald’s In Clear Bags, Midtown / 3. Suitcase, Chinatown / 4. Chairs, East Village / 5. Snow In Public Litter Bin, West Village / 6. Rocker Clothes, Lower East Side / 7. Suits, Williamsburg / 8. Smashed Guitar, Bushwick / 9. Vacuum Cleaner, Upper West Side / 10. Red Suitcase, Greenpoint / 11. Met’s Suck 2X, Flushing / 12. Budweiser Bottles, Meatpacking District / 13. Wet Cardboard, Chelsea / 14. Happy Birthday, East Village / 15. Stained Mattress, Park Slope / 16. Junk, Inwood / 17. 125th, Harlem / Happy New Year Plates, Lower East Side
