Trigger Trash

The term "trigger trash" is used by the United States Bureau of Land Management to describe firearm related waste found on federally owned, public land. In Eastern Idaho, recreational shooting is legal in these rural places, but it is unlawful to discard any targets, shrapnel, or debris. As a nonnative resident and an outsider to gun culture, I began collecting and documenting these objects with the intent to metaphorically describe the traditions and ideologies of local gun owners. In order to present these items as cultural artifacts, I have adopted a visual style that is informed by the clinical approach of archaeological photography. I am interested in how these post-consumer product-targets characterize individuals, relate an attitude of rebelliousness that aligns with a mythologized view of the American West, and represent a culture of violence inexorably linked to firearm use.

Completed 2016-2017
Archival Pigment Prints
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