In 2011 Antoine Repesse started a new project. He decided to start saving all of his recyclable trash, rather than throwing it away. For four years he kept saving the trash until he figured it was time to do something about it. He grabbed his camera and started taking pictures to document exactly how much stuff is used and tossed away, or recycled. He wanted people not only to hear about the amount of the waste, but he wanted them to actually see it with their eyes so they could understand better. Imagine what it would have looked like if he had decided to do that with regular garbage?Antoine Repesse stopped tossing out his recyclable trash in 2011. He let it gather up for four consecutive years.
After everything had piled up for four years he knew it was time. No, not time to clean it up, but time to start taking some pictures and calling it art.
He called the series of photos “#365 Unpacked” and used it to get people to think about just how much recyclable stuff they really use. It’s amazing the amount of trash that actually piled up.
Over the four year period a total of more than 2,400 cubic feet of trash had gathered. This includes 1,600 milk bottles, 4,800 empty rolls of toilet paper, and more than 1,700 pounds of newspapers. Imagine if newspapers were what they used to be… that poundage would be at least tripled.
Repesse said that he separated all of the garbage for a better visual effect in the photos. “I wanted to give an aesthetic dimension to my work.”
He explained further when he added “The choice of sorting the garbage gives a graphic effect. I tried to produce a perfect picture which evokes something disturbing.” He nailed it. Which room would you rather be in, the real one or the one on the video game?
He said that being told how much waste there is in the world isn’t enough. People have to actually see it with their eyes. “We’re often told about the quantity of waste we produce, but I think the impact of a picture can be more powerful than a ton of words.”
Repesse added. “I hope my project can inspire change.” It certainly makes the point that he was trying to get across.
