A Salvaged Landscape

driftwood, hand cut nails, vintage jug tops, 72 x 48 x 5 inches

A Salvaged Landscape is a mountain scape made from broken jug tops collected off a beach in Brooklyn called Dead Horse Bay. The area was used as a garbage dump in the early 20th century, but it was poorly capped and the seal broke in the 1950’s and has been leaking trash ever since. Over the years a majority of the debris has washed away into the ocean except for some of the heavier glass which rolls in and out with the waves making an endless eerie, tinkling soundtrack.

Having been scavenged for years for antique bottles, toys and bits the bulk of what’s left is hundreds of broken gallon glass jugs from makers like Clorox, Ajax and a product called Rose X (an ammonia based cleanser) their leftover contents along with thousands of pounds of trash still making its way into the sea.