Another of my early sociopolitical works, created whilst still at art school. The idea centres on the homeless in New York, living and dying literally in the trash. It was inspired by the story of a hobo who had died in a garbage bin he had been living in. Living in, eating, dying in trash. Being trash, becoming trash, out with the trash. It seemed such a poignant story I wanted to make a poignant image to mark it.
Garbage Man was a seminal work in many ways. It was a move from wall-hanging collages of objects into more 3D work. Although still wall or ground based my work moved from representational into the physical. It shows also my interest in using objects and casts of objects in combination to make a point. It also demonstrates a mature interest in socially motivated art. Another first was the use of copper as a paint. I bought powdered copper, mixed it with shellac and painted the whole thing. The green colour is not paint, it’s a verdigris patina created by pissing on the things for days. The final piece has a certain aroma, shall we say! It was the my figurative work in metal resin, a method which I am well established in these days.