Hello, I'm Gray! I'm a trash artist based in Springfield, MO. I am a proud trans-woman and use She/They pronouns.
So like, what actually is trash art, why do you call yourself a trash artist? Its pretty simple, I take some of my trash slap it on a canvas with some paint, maybe burn it a little bit and call it a day.
For real though, I am just a huge fan of texture when it comes to painting. What better way to get a bunch of funky texture than to throw a bunch of trash and plastic on a canvas and burn it, y'know?
Putting my own trash into my artwork also gives it this personal touch and feels very freeing. I am tangibly taking something that I have already used in life and giving it a new life in artwork.
On a more nuanced level, I really enjoy the philosophy of trash art. Using anything around you and all that you have to create joy. Trash art feels like a reaction to the situations I have been raised in and a reflection of the world I see as a result of it. A gritty sense of self-determination provided by taking even this cast-off dirty piece of trash that no one else would ever look twice at and finding its meaning and purpose in the piece that I am working on.
