GARBAGE PERSON
2022
This project culminated in two exhibitions (one group and one solo).
My statement:
I’m a Garbage Person, embracing “trash” as both subject and material, deconstructing ideas of high and low culture through my approach to craft. Hooked on nostalgia, I scour eBay for tabloids from my childhood (1990s-2000s) and bedazzle them with beads and sequins reminiscent of my grandmother’s jar of loose embroidery embellishments that felt like treasure in my kindergarten hands. With the tabloids I intend to illuminate the proliferation of violence as spectacle and entertainment that fetishizes trauma. We are complicit in this system, and we don’t just consume violence; we also violently consume, from Monica Lewinsky to Amber Heard. My cannibalistic consumption of others has been not only encouraged by surrogate father figures like Jerry Springer and Maury Povich, but commodified in the attention economy. Herein lies my obsession with papier-mâché (French for “chewed paper”). My sculptures of severed heads, Thanksgiving dinner, and Buzzfeed quizzes are specifically composed of Black Friday coupons, unsolicited loan offers to decrease my debt, and credit card statements that show how deeply my possessions have possessed me. I have been unable to exorcise the poltergeist of poverty that has haunted me since childhood, its grip empowered by push notifications and phantom vibration syndrome. I’m not really exploring supernatural horror, but rather material horror, the idea that beneath everything there is no aura, no soul; only emptiness.
GARBAGE PERSON is an immersive installation that embraces “trash” as both subject and material in an examination of consumer culture and the demand for commodifiable identity in late-stage Capitalism. Artist Taylor Lee Nicholson deconstructs high and low culture in this work, encouraging patrons to interact with GARBAGE PERSON via a staged yard sale, collaborative art works, and a series of experiential programming that invites intimate connection and lasting impressions. The exhibition was installed at McColl Center from December 21, 2022 - January 7, 2023 and supported by programming that included a paper mache workshop, premiere of video work, and an artist talk + exhibition tour. Opening night performance by Darby Wilcox, and photos by Lindsey Miller with the assistance of Graham Hellderman. Exhibition flier design by Kitty Jardenil. Installation photography and videography by Taylor Lee Nicholson.
I also curated a group show under the same title, GARBAGE PERSON, at Gallery C3 in Charlotte, NC from May 6 - July 31, 2022. The featured artists were Kelly Boehmer, Emily Furr, Katie Kimmel, Janie Korn, Danica Pantic, Samantha Rosado, Sari Shryack, Emily Silver, and Nill Smith. Please enjoy a video of the exhibition created by @nicoledfilms below: