Trash Music

A shredding machine stands at one end of the gallery. Across the room, what first appears to be a massive heap of trash, on closer inspection, is a single, continuous rope of refuse. It snakes through the space, dense with discarded objects tied, bound, or fused into an extended, winding assemblage.

When the machine is activated, the rope begins to move. It tightens, straightens, and is slowly pulled toward the shredder’s mouth. As each object along the rope reaches its final moment, it produces sound. Some items are engineered to rupture on impact, creating sharp percussive bursts. Foil bags crack and pop in timed intervals. Thin plastics flutter and snap in staccato rhythms. Larger objects send resonant thuds through contact microphones.

The destruction becomes a kind of improvised score. The gallery fills with an evolving rhythm built from the choreography of waste meeting its end. The viewer experiences both spectacle and soundtrack: a mechanical system that converts trash into music and disappearance into performance.

The viewer can feed various items into the shredder through funnels, conveyor belts, etc., in combination with the rope, creating unique musical compositions.