Northern Illinois University Art Museum,
January 18 - May 14, 2022
What started as a curiosity turned into a habit. While stopped at a gas station one day to fill up my car, I noticed a pair of broken glasses on the ground near the pump, with a rusty paperclip nearby. I found it curious, so I snapped a picture. The next time I filled up, I saw a battery that had been partially crushed. I snapped a picture. I was intrigued by these things that were discarded and left behind. What was the story behind these items? Most were likely dropped accidentally. But did their owners know they dropped them, and didn't bother to pick them up? Or did they get home and wonder, where did I leave my comb? How many other people had walked past them? Did they even notice them, or give them a second thought? I started to seek them out. I noticed patterns. I would see similar objects at different gas stations, or the same object at the same station, weeks apart.
The gas station is a common shared public space that many people move in and out of, often without giving a thought to those that are there before or after them. By focusing on these items that were left behind, we raise awareness that we are not here alone. And while we may not know or ever directly encounter these other people, our actions can leave an imprint on them, and the environment.
The digital print is 30'x10", and includes 110 images that were collected over the course of about three and a half years. Along with the photos themselves are plots of associated data. Including information related to when the photo was taken, and data related to the content of the image. Each image is labeled with the result of running it through an image classification algorithm.
