426,000 Cell Phones Trashed Every Day
It's often difficult to imagine large numbers. Chris Jordan is an artist who helps us see the scale of things. His current project: "Running the Numbers - An American Self-Portrait" is a stunning photographic record of our mass consumer society.
Statistics can feel abstract and anesthetizing, making it difficult to connect with and make meaning of 3.6 million SUV sales in one year, for example, or 2.3 million Americans in prison, or 426,000 cell phones retired every day. This project visually examines these vast and bizarre measures of our society, in large intricately detailed prints assembled from thousands of smaller photographs.
Chris has been selected as a recipient of the 2007 Green Leaf Award given by the Natural World Museum and the United Nations Environment Programme. He will receive the award at the Nobel Peace Center in Oslo, Norway, on June 5th, at the opening of the World Environment Day Conference.
(Hat Tip to Daniel Goldman)