Colourful Rubbish
It all started in October 2017, when I was seeking colour to brighten up a wet and grey photo-walk in the centre of Manchester. I found that my eye was drawn to pieces of rubbish: they were pretty much the only colourful things to be seen. Since then, somewhat to my surprise, my photographer's eye has continued to be drawn to items of litter, and wondering what it was about its colour and placement that made me notice it, and would it make an attractive picture?
Eventually, I began to consider deeper questions:
- Why are products designed to be eye-catching? Presumably to make you more likely to see them in the shop and buy them?
- Do unwanted objects become more or less eye catching when they have been left in the street?
- Are we somehow able to disregard them dependent upon their situation?
- Have we become so accustomed to our world surrounded by these discarded patches of bright man-made colour?
- How far are we from it feeling strange to see a litter-less street, waterbody, or woodland?
- Do people not feel a pang of guilt when they add to this mosaic?
- What is it that overrides the mainstream social conditioning against dropping litter?
- Perhaps people who leave rubbish are subject to other social influences that makes it more acceptable?
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, what is the solution?
Mike Beard is an event photographer living in Manchester, UK.
This is a personal photography project created during photowalks with friends, or using photography as the perfect motivation to walk to work or to escape the office at lunch.
I am in-debited to the kind volunteers who arrange meetups, and to Mark Hobbs for the advice and motivation provided during by him and others during his photo project group meetings https://www.instagram.com/markhobbsphoto_/
Colourful Rubbish is available for exhibition.
