With the Junk Drawer Project, I visited the homes of eight friends/couples and as an act of service, helped them to sort through one junk drawer in their home. This is typically found in a kitchen, experiences high traffic, is messy and there are things in there used all the time amidst trash and forgotten objects. Why do we keep these things? What are we able to let go? For this project, I was most interested in people’s relationships with these forgotten objects in their home, kept because something about it required keeping. Certain forgotten objects sparked memories and stories of deceased loved ones. Of the toss/give away pile, these remnants became ‘trace leavings’ which I crocheted into hanging sculptures, the small scale mimicking the intimacy experienced in these home visits. The works ask viewers to consider the objects themselves, from the brittle rubber bands to other readymade consumerist debris. (2022)
Junk Drawer Project: Ak & Sunder’s Trace Leavings 2022 Photograph 8 x 10 Inches
Trace Leavings (Donald, Sunder, Ak) 2022 Ruler, Wire, Rope, Thread Scrap, Plastic and Metal 6 x 1 x 10 Inches
Junk Drawer Project: Barbi’s Trace Leavings 2022 Photograph 8 x 10 Inches “I’ve always had a problem with clutter. The last few years, I don’t know what happened but it just got really out of control…I got Covid twice…I got really frustrated, I didn’t know where to start. How the hell did it get like this again?”
Trace Leavings (Ak, Sunder & Barbi) 2022 Nylon Kite String, Rubber Bands, Paper Straw Wrapper and Plastic Tag 3 x 1 x 12 Inches
Junk Drawer Project: Savi’s Trace Leavings 2022 Photograph 8 x 10 Inches "Here’s my favorite knife which I’m so happy to find because I’ve been looking everywhere for it. I got it in India twenty some years ago…When someone gives you a knife you have to give them a piece of metal in return or it’s bad luck. Just remember that.”
Colista's Trace Leavings 2022 Nylon Kite Twine and Travel Earbuds 2 x 2 x 12 Inches
Junk Drawer Project: Donald’s Trace Leavings 2022 Photograph 8 x 10 Inches
Trace Leavings (Barbi, Carlin, Savi) 2022 Broken Sunglasses, Keychain, Thread Scraps, Plastic Spoon, Ripped Clip and Twisted Nylon Twine 2 x 2 x 36 Inches
Junk Drawer Project: Carlin’s Trace Leavings 2022 Photograph 8 x 10 Inches "I was the guardian of my friends', Jun and Mixa's, raw materials who made all these clothes and everything. Watches that look like from another planet. And I have them. And they don't work. They're just art. Keeping art."
Jessica & Roberto’s Trace Leavings (Ribbon Diptych) 2022 Vintage Edge Trim Ribbon, Plastic Ribbon Spool, iPhone Charger, Metal Apparatus, Rubberband & Toe Separator 6 x 1 x 24 Inches and 6 x 1 x 22 Inches
Junk Drawer Project: Cha Cha & Teo’s Trace Leavings 2022 Photograph 8 x 10 Inches
Trace Leavings (Jessica, Roberto & Dawn; Plant Diptych) 2022 Nylon Kite Twine, Snake Plants, USB Phone Charger, Rubberband and Thread Scrap 6 x 1 x 9 Inches and 6 x 2 x 36 Inches
Junk Drawer Project: Colista’s Trace Leavings 2022 Photograph 8 x 10 Inches
Dawn’s Trace Leavings 2022 Hoarded Embroidery Thread & Thread Scraps 3 ¼ x .25 x 10 Inches
Junk Drawer Project: Jessica & Roberto’s Trace Leavings 2022 Photograph 8 x 10 Inches
