(The images above depict one million plastic cups, the number used on airline flights in the US every six hours.)
The video below is a very moving TED Talk given by American photographer Chris Jordan. Jordan depicts images of western culture’s consumerism revealing the startling statistics of our daily consumption. He transforms the data about everyday items such as paper cups, cell phones, plastic bottles, and other mass produced goods, and makes large-format, long-zoom artwork.
Jordan has published a number of books including “Intolerable Beauty – Portraits of American Mass Consumption”, “In Katrina’s Wake – Portraits of Loss from an Unnatural Disaster”, “Running the Numbers – An American Self Portrait”, and “Running the Numbers II – Portraits of Global Mass Culture”.
Jordan’s goal is to create meaning out of the enormous statistics we encounter. He does this by taking the raw language of data and translates it into a more universal visual language that can be felt. He believes that if we can feel this information, then it will matter to us more and hopefully encourage action towards change.
To find out more, visit Chris Jordan.com.
