“Maquette for an American River” is a series of large-scale multimedia installations featuring multiple audio/video projections, a 500gal pool of water, a pond pump, and an artificial river constructed entirely from "found object" trash collected in the region of exhibition. This series originated in 2008 as a “protest of accumulation,” a visual and immersive environment critiquing our collective historic and contemporary artificial waterway management policies, over-consumption, and general societal dependence upon and disconnection from both the disposal and supply chain. “Maquette” is part of a larger body of work investigating economies, ecologies, and communities impacted by international shipping traffic, water policy, and resource management. It is an [art] historical reference to Rube Goldberg’s “machines,” Robert Rauschenberg’s “combines,” Mierle Laderman Ukeles’ “maintenance art,” William Rathje’s “garbology,” and more. Metaphorically, “Maquette” is an allusion to an environment constructed entirely of our own detritus. It is, in reality, a self-portrait: a visual representation of our own interaction with the environment around us.
For more context, please see this short video at:
http://vimeo.com/18805319
and visit my webpage at:
http://recycledcarbon.com/freedmaquette.html
