Yesterday I met with Maite Zubiaurre and had an excellent couple of hours talking rubbish for her upcoming book. We looked at my work and some other artists work, discussed ‘dumpsterology’ (her preferred term) and charity shops at length. We went to the 2 charity shops open on a Sunday in Halifax and talked a little bit with one of the staff members there. We discussed our mutual obsession with photographing bins wherever we go and Maite talked about the California trash art scene and gave me a couple of links to follow up. We’ll be keeping in touch once she has returned to LA and no doubt swapping many notes for our respective book and thesis!
In other news, I’m travelling to Naples in October and am looking for people who will talk rubbish with me. Although I believe the rubbish/mafia crisis is largely under control now, I’d like to hear what residents’ thoughts are on the matter. It’s actually a family holiday for my Mum’s 60th birthday but “when in Rome” (or Naples) as they say…
On my watch list is this documentary The Mafia Is Trashing Italy… Literally (part 1) and part 2: http://bit.ly/Toxic-Napoli-2 published by Vice in 2009.
“In the city of Naples, Italy, the Mafia has controlled the waste-management industry for decades — dumping and burning trash across its rolling hills and vineyards. In 1994, the European Union declared the situation an official environmental emergency, and things have only gotten worse since then. When we investigated the situation we found mutated sheep, poisoned mozzarella, alarming rates of cancer, and pissed off farmers ready to push back against the Camorra, Italy’s most powerful and dangerous criminal organization (and the government that enables it).”
