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The Dumpster ProjectFaced with moving to a smaller studio, artist <a href="http://www.macpremo.com/">Mac Premo</a> did not want to part with the 500 objects he collected over the last few decades. Instead, he transformed a <a href="http://inhabitat.com/nyc/the-palms-combines-best-of-summer-in-nyc-dumpster-pools-outdoor-music-local-food/" target="_blank">disused dumpster</a> into a mobile gallery installation to display his objects of ephemera. Currently located at Brooklyn’s <a href="http://www.theinvisibledog.org" target="_blank">Invisible Dog Art Center</a>, the <a href="http://www.thedumpsterproject.com./" target="_blank">Dumpster Project</a> is a life size collage that gives visitors a glimpse inside one artist's life.1
The Dumpster ProjectLike a true pack rat, Premo has accumulated and <a href="http://inhabitat.com/artist-recycled-washed-up-toys-on-california-seashore-into-beach-plastic-artwork/" target="_blank">archived many objects</a> throughout his life, which called his studio home. When deciding to move to a smaller studio, the artist realized he’d have to get rid of many of these prized items. Rather than throw them away, he decided to upcycle the items into one <a href="http://inhabitat.com/greg-haberny-transforms-trash-into-artwork-that-challenges-over-consumption/" target="_blank">incredible collage</a>.2
The Dumpster ProjectOver 500 items occupy the 30 yard <a href="http://inhabitat.com/ethan-hayes-chutes-quirky-wooden-shacks-are-a-delightful-hodgepodge-of-found-materials/" target="_blank">dumpster</a>. Before assembling, Premo meticulously photographed each one, and blogged about the pieces each day. Belt buckles, baseball cards, shoes, mix tapes fortune cookie messages, wisdom teeth, drawings, and <a href="http://inhabitat.com/miniaturist-jason-daquino-creates-tiny-portraits-on-recycled-matchbooks/" target="_blank">other memorabilia</a> from his life were each lit and photographed on a simple white background, and catalogued.3
The Dumpster ProjectTo accompany each piece of ephemera, Premo wrote a brief historical narrative, a memory about objects that he held dear to his heart, or just a mere description for those that did not strike nostalgia.4
The Dumpster ProjectAssembled all together, the objects take on new life. Like a giant <a href="http://inhabitat.com/plantini-a-miniature-growing-kit-in-the-form-of-an-ornate-victorian-hothouse/" target="_blank">Victorian curio cabinet</a>, the pieces are all displayed in shelves, cases and shadow boxes. But Premo’s arrangements of each piece gives them a new dialogue.5
The Dumpster Project<a href="http://inhabitat.com/jung-inyoung’s-sleek-rolling-suitcase-charges-your-devices-kinetically/" target="_blank">Suitcases</a> are opened and turned into shelves. Vintage wooden boxes house trinkets and old toys. Each object now relates to the last in a visual way, rather than as accumulations of Premo’s life.6
The Dumpster ProjectThe Dumpster Project made its way to the <a href="http://inhabitat.com/nyc/shopbox-turns-a-shipping-container-into-a-giant-vending-machine-for-brooklyns-dekalb-market/" target="_blank">Dekalb Market</a>, then to <a href="http://inhabitat.com/inhabitats-top-eco-art-picks-from-art-basel-week-in-miami/" target="_blank">PULSE Art Fair in Miami</a>, and now rests next to Invisible Dog Project on Bergen Street in Brooklyn.7
