K u r o s       Z a h e d i

Ladders are an important element in the work.  They symbolize the ascent of consciousness to a higher level.  The first three images are about the iconography associated with ladders.  The other images are of the making of ladders out of Ari's cardboard, white paper, and receipts. 
(photos by KZ and Steven Kennedy)

This image is from Robert Fludd's Utriusque cosmi historia, II, 1619, in the tradition of western alchemy.  The ladder leads from the world of matter to spirit.  Each rung represents a stage of development - see below.

This drawing depicts the seven chakras, with the last represented by the flaming crown of light (much like the sun in the above image).

The ladder is symbolically associated with the caduceus, which is the ladder upon which Hermes/Mercury, messenger of the gods, ascends and descends.  The snake glides along the earth, sheds its skin and renews itself and is therefore associated with change, renewal and healing - in the familiar image of the caduceus, above, snakes rise up the rod, representing the transformative life forces of mother earth.

Back in the studio, the cardboard is cut to size and taped together to make the rough skeleton form of the ladder.

Several layers of paper are applied with wheat paste.

After a couple of layers.

Part of the 2-D component of the installation, in progress.  This image shows one of several reclaimed doors upon which designs have been sketched.  This will all be covered with rich glass and garbage collage.  The figure will be Ari's outline. 
Photo by Sandra Loeffelmann

Here are some images of the transformation of paper.  This batch was mostly junk mail and other shiny paper.  Paper is soaked, boiled, blended, strained and mixed with powdered glass and wheat based wallpaper paste.  It is then formed.
Photos in this post by Sandra Loeffelmann.

Film by Josh Bradley.  We will be posting more of these... 

The weights (all in pounds):

Plastic - 26
Glass - 143
Paper - 21
Metal - 11
Tetra Pak - 6
Miscellaneous - 31

Total - 238 pounds

WOW!!!  The average American produces about 1650 pounds!
That is almost 7 times what Ari collected.  By making small changes such as bringing his own bags, buying at the farmer's market, and buying bulk he minimized his waste.  In the process, he learned a great deal, became healthier and inspired a lot of people.

The trash is neatly back in my studio and work has begun on the actual piece!! 

I will soon post some interesting video documentation of the trash, as well as some numbers (weights, etc.)  I think it is important to record exactly what it was before I change it all into something totally different. 

I will also be posting photos and video of the work in progress every couple of weeks.

So more very soon... 

Here are some images of all the trash spread out at my friend Steven's photo studio.

Keep in mind that the average American produces orders of magnitude more than Ari did.  Keep in mind also, that the trash is the tip of the iceberg.  Most of the waste, resource consumption and energy usage happen during the process of creating the packaging and waste we see here. 

Ari' life changed when he started this.  He became healthier, lost weight, and felt great.  Turns out, eating fresh, local, organic, and lower on the food chain = less waste in the landfill. 

all of it.

all of it again.

glass.

plastic.

paper.

metal.

beverage packaging.

chocolate!

energy bars.

tea.

random do-dads. 
 - perhaps the most personal pile, besides the notes, to do lists, and letters / cards.

Here are some images of Ari in his home, with his Collection.

Ari's blog got thousands of hits when his story hit the press. 

Here are a few links to some of the press about his project...

http://www.consciouschoice.com/2008/03/ecomavericks0803.html
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/12/30/BAFFU493E.DTL
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/emeraldcity/2008/01/man-loses-weigh.html
http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=4072895
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2007/12/31/trash.man.ari.derfel.cnn?iref=videosearch
http://video.msn.com/?mkt=en-us&fg=rss&vid=ef0d7445-416f-430b-9ecd-b50f9e81dd01&from=34

A friend in Seattle forwarded me an email about Ari Derfel, who had saved his trash for one year and was looking for an artist to turn it into a work of art.  Wow, I thought.  What a pre-potentized package of materials to work with;  what an opportunity!  I emailed.  I talked about my work with trash and the Urban Alchemy projects.  I provided links to images and media.  Ari wrote back.  We talked on email.  We talked on the phone.  I liked Ari immediately.  I liked his energy, his upbeat positivity, spirituality and openness. 

... and the next thing I knew, I was on a plane to the Oakland.

This is Ari.  He had just picked me up from the airport here. We spent the day together in his home, with his garbage collection.  I tried to take in his life as much as I could.  We visited his work, Back to Earth.  We talked about our goals, ideas, visions... I still had no idea what I'd do with the trash... to turn it into art.

Ari showing me his trash in his apartment in Berkeley.