Portals: Reclaiming Abandoned Objects in the Rural Southern Minnesota Landscape
Portal 01 (Objects of Beauty), Assorted objects/fragments found along roadsides and in ditches, paint, paracord, zip ties, 69” x 57” x 8” d, 2024. photo credit: Seth Dahlseid
The exhibition Portals at RACA Gallery integrated thousands of objects found in the ditches and along the roadsides in the rural, southern Minnesota landscape near Good Thunder, where I have my home and studio. I have long been an avid walker, runner, and gravel cyclist, so the idea of exploring the local landscape is not new to me. However, this project represents a more concerted effort to connect my studio practice with my immediate environment.
Portal 01 (Objects of Beauty)—detail, Assorted objects/fragments found along roadsides and in ditches, paint, paracord, zip ties, 69” x 57” x 8” d, 2024. photo credit: Seth Dahlseid
Over the past year, I collected abandoned pieces of plastic, including both large-scale objects found embedded in the landscape (such as plastic playground equipment and ATV fenders) as well as the many shards of plastic that are broken off of objects and situated in the landscape as detritus. The act of collecting objects and shards of plastic was, in itself, a feat of endurance and grit. While some of the collected objects were sitting obviously on top of the roads’ surfaces, many were embedded in the soil, swallowed by many cycles of rain, snow, and growth. Excavating such items took time, strength, and determination. While the objects were clearly abandoned, broken, lost, and otherwise overlooked, the project also called into question the idea of ownership. Whose objects were these? When does ownership of an object end?
Portal 02 (Objects of Beauty), Assorted objects/fragments found along roadsides and in ditches, paint, paracord, zip ties, 70” x 41” x 9” d, 2024, photo credit: Seth Dahlseid
As I collected the larger objects, I was shocked by the continued accumulation of small pieces of plastic along the same stretches of roadside. If nothing was there one week, the next was sure to yield at least fifty new shards of plastic. Avoiding commonly seen elements such as beverage bottles, I instead collected a variety of items that are both recognizable and unrecognizable, but not necessarily items one might expect to encounter. The sharpness of the objects reflects the implied violence of their impact a they catapult out of the back of trucks, or shatter when a vehicle collides with a deer. The number of children’s toys situated in the landscape and left to decay was surprising, and formed an interesting visual and conceptual contrast to the other broken and battered plastic items.
Portal 02 (Objects of Beauty), Assorted objects/fragments found along roadsides and in ditches, paint, paracord, zip ties, 70” x 41” x 9” d, 2024, photo credit: Seth Dahlseid
Initially, I expected that each collected item would serve as its own armature for fiber-based adornment. However, it became apparent that I would need larger frameworks to try to contain the smaller pieces of plastic.. The large plastic items collected were drilled into, serving as an armature from which smaller items could then be suspended by colorful paracord. As I suspended the small plastic items from the larger armatures, I started to see them as Portals—magical, mystical, and unexpected doorways through which to explore the dreck of our contemporary culture in an unexpected way.
Portal 03 (Objects of Beauty), Assorted objects/fragments found along roadsides and in ditches, paint, paracord, zip ties, 74” x 52” x 16” d, 2024, photo credit: Seth Dahlseid
Although work integrating these type of found objects is sometimes referred to as “junk art” or “recycled art,” I don’t personally identify with those terms, and am seeking something different with this work. I see these objects as harbingers of collective history, items that tell a story of our time on this earth, and objects of beauty that deserve a second chance. The items here are far from junk, and I’m not interested in making a commentary on recycling. Instead, I think of their narrative potential, their potential as magical symbols of new possibilities, and their role in our collective history. These objects marked moments in time in the lives of at least one person, and then were relegated to the landscape. Bringing these objects back and seeing them with new potential brings me joy—but there is also a critical lens being applied to this process. Why do we cast these objects away so quickly? Why do we live in a culture that is so quietly (and loudly) violent and neglectful? Why is care not taken to preserve and maintain? These questions circled through my head as I slowly worked throughout the year on this body of work.
Portal 03 (Objects of Beauty)—detail, Assorted objects/fragments found along roadsides and in ditches, paint, paracord, zip ties, 74” x 52” x 16” d, 2024, photo credit: Seth Dahlseid
Portals at RACA Gallery is a culmination of this project, and is made possible by a generous grant:
Liz Miller is a fiscal year 2024 recipient of a Creative Individuals grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board. This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund
