Julie Kornblum

My work addresses the environmental crisis of plastic trash and pollution. My materials are cast off, surplus, or waste: recycled copper wire, one-time-use plastic bags and bits. My color palette is deceptively bright and (one might say) cheery or whimsical. I call this palette is “found color.” It is the color story of plastic packaging. These items are products, and they must attract consumers as they sit on store shelves. These materials belong solely to the modern age. Physically, they are by-products of industrialization. Conceptually, the ideas of disposability, one-time-use, surplus, and waste are modern inventions. Yet, what we have thrown away stays around, and will haunt us for who know how long.