In a bay on the Atlantic Ocean, the tides slowly expose closed landfills littering coastal zones with Depression-era glass, soles of shoes, and conglomerations of inorganic and organic materials. Artist Bea Fremderman collects discarded detritus from this shoreline, imagining personas of those who may have used or cast the objects away.

After a deep cleaning process, Fremderman assembles her gatherings in a technique similar to that used for making stained-glass windows or Tiffany lamps. The sculptures are then internally illuminated, emanating the textures of their parts and refracting forms and color resulting in an immersive installation.

Through the re-presentation and re-creation of waste, the work visualizes human interconnection with disposable objects, the Earth, and our unknown future.

Image: Bea Fremderman, installation view of the exhibition Barren Island at Prairie Gallery in Chicago, 2021. Photo courtesy of Prairie Gallery.