Death to the Living by Duke Riley
Duke Riley
Death to the Living - Long Live Trash
Through deep research and with a rollicking mischievous streak, Brooklyn-based artist Duke Riley consistently challenges dominant narratives around timely sociopolitical issues through his drawings, installations, and public art projects. In DEATH TO THE LIVING, Long Live Trash, Riley explores his longstanding passion for maritime history and New York's waterfront communities in the context of contemporary environmental dilemmas specifically the detrimental impacts of pollution and single-use plastics.
Rilev takes inspiration from scrimshaw-a maritime craft where sailors on board early American whaling ships would carve elaborate images into discarded whale teeth and bone, melding aesthetic and cultural references along the way - and replaces the medium's traditional materials with plastic waste collected from New York City's vast network of waterways. Bottles, toilet seats, food containers, and other found objects depict traditional maritime subject matter (such as sea animals and ships), but also poignantly incorporate portraits of lobbyists and CEOs from the oil, food, chemical, and plastics industries. In doing so, Riley's scrimshaw works draw attention to the culpability of corporations in the perpetuation of single-use plastics and the subsequent destruction of global waters. Similarly, Riley's sailor's valentines and fishing lures use discarded household objects like toothbrushes, tampon applicators, and electrical cords.
(From the Brooklyn Museum)
Death to the Living by Duke Riley
Duke Riley
Death to the Living - Long Live Trash
Through deep research and with a rollicking mischievous streak, Brooklyn-based artist Duke Riley consistently challenges dominant narratives around timely sociopolitical issues through his drawings, installations, and public art projects. In DEATH TO THE LIVING, Long Live Trash, Riley explores his longstanding passion for maritime history and New York's waterfront communities in the context of contemporary environmental dilemmas specifically the detrimental impacts of pollution and single-use plastics.
Rilev takes inspiration from scrimshaw-a maritime craft where sailors on board early American whaling ships would carve elaborate images into discarded whale teeth and bone, melding aesthetic and cultural references along the way - and replaces the medium's traditional materials with plastic waste collected from New York City's vast network of waterways. Bottles, toilet seats, food containers, and other found objects depict traditional maritime subject matter (such as sea animals and ships), but also poignantly incorporate portraits of lobbyists and CEOs from the oil, food, chemical, and plastics industries. In doing so, Riley's scrimshaw works draw attention to the culpability of corporations in the perpetuation of single-use plastics and the subsequent destruction of global waters. Similarly, Riley's sailor's valentines and fishing lures use discarded household objects like toothbrushes, tampon applicators, and electrical cords.
(From the Brooklyn Museum)