TRASHLOG

Nico Van Hurn is collecting a new piece of trash each day, scanning and then and posting them on the web. He calls it his "Trashlog." I quote: "The TRASHLOG-project was started on 5 May 2002. The end of the project is not yet definitely established. The project consists of a half an hour daily walk looking for a piece of trash lying in the street. I don't need to dig in waste baskets, there is enough trash to find in the street. The trash may be of paper, plastic or metal, but it may never be bigger than 10 x 15 cm and it must be as flat as possible. From the founded items I choose one item to be scanned and this item will be on view on internet."

It's kind of a wacky, pointless, funlike thing to do. A game this guy invented, with probably scrupulously-kept rules: how long to walk, when, how to know what kind of trash is "right." And yet the result of the game is a living, constantly expanding photographic journey that one could ever so easily confuse with art. And it's obviously fun.

The TRASHLOG is a significant achievement. Light of heart and hand, TRASHLOG invites us to become more aware of our world, and perhaps a bit more conscientious about its care. It is public art and public play.

For more on the art of transforming trash into art, see Trashopia and Artgarbage.com.