Where Native People once gathered materials on the banks of the Duwamish River to create clothing, vessels, and tools, Recology’s Material Transfer Facility now collects and processes the items King County residents put in their recycling bins. Day after day, trucks dump enormous piles of items we no longer find useful or want – the shadow objects of our modern life.
During my five-month residency among the towering mountains of waste, I re-engaged with the site in a way that approximated how Native People may have used it before settlers arrived. I foraged (for plastic bags in choice colors and textures), then processed and wove the material into new textiles – physically, energetically, and conceptually transforming the cast-off goods that once lived with us into new domestic objects.
