A Picture's Worth 60,000 Plastic Bags

Every five minutes two million plastic beverage bottles are used in the United States. Five minutes; that’s all it takes for a nation to create this mass of waste.

426,000. That’s the number of cell phones retired in the US everyday. Now how many of these phones do you believe are disposed of properly, or even recycled?

These statistics are alarming to hear, but the reality is often hard to bear without visualizing the extent of these issues. Thanks to Chris Jordan of Chris Jordan’s Photographic Arts, we can do just that – visualize. In his collection, Running the Numbers, Jordan turns raw statistics like these into stunning pieces of artwork, each one a poignant social commentary regarding our penchant for consumption.

“I hope to raise some questions about the role of the individual in a society that is increasingly economic, incomprehensible, and overwhelming,” Jordan explains in his statement.

60,000 plastic bags are used every five seconds, and in a 60 x 72’’ photograph, you see them all. Each photographed image portrays a specific quantity, and is intricately assembled from thousands of smaller photos. So what seems like a multicolored splatter of paint at first glance turns into a dizzying array of plastics, thousands and thousands of them, years away from decomposition.

The photos are magnificent, and yet make a frightening statement. In Jordan’s Intolerable Beauty collection, there are no tricks of the eye to be seen. Pure waste and ruin tell a story of American consumption that makes you wonder how anyone could possibly use so much. Oil cans, paper, wood, e-waste, it all adds up to

“I find evidence of a slow-motion apocalypse in progress,” Jordan writes. “I am appalled by the scenes, and yet also drawn to them with awe and fascination. The immense scale of our consumption can appear desolate…even darkly beautiful; for me its consistent feature is a staggering complexity.

Jordan’s photographs are beautiful and shocking, intricate and thought provoking. I urge you to visit Jordan’s sight and view each photo while taking into account what we as individuals can do to change the shocking reality. And if you or a group of motivated students happen to have an idea about taking action, consider applying to our venture program for an opportunity to get 1,000$ to support your socially innovative idea!