TRAshball
TRAshball (TRA is ART backwards) was born out of the idea of creating an urban tumbleweed from city detritus. Created by myself and my fellow collaborator Gerry Moll we unleashed the tumbleweed (its original inception) into the public space of Knoxville, Tennessee's Market Square and naturally mayhem ensued. It was intended as a critique of waste products in our environment as well as an experiment in how the viewer would respond. We would leave it and observe from afar, and the response was fun and unpredictable. From that point on TRAshball (as it became known) was taken to many public spaces eliciting interactions from viewers. Kids played with it, adults looked on questioningly and sometimes added to it, and overall it was quite the discussion starter. It sort of snowballed, if you will, into this local entity spurring the creation of a Facebook page and making many public appearances at local environmentally focused events. It was even displayed in a few gallery settings accompanying my “Traveling Trashball” comic series at Pinkard Gallery in MD and “The Ordinary Expands” gallery exhibition at Goucher College in MD. Trashball is still rolling around east TN and has in many ways taken on a life of it's own. I guess that is the nature of garbage…it just does what it does.
Installed in Town of Farragut TN City Hall Building.
Detail
Brown Road Clean Up performance with TRAshball and TRAsh Collective (Katie Walberg and Gerry Moll)
Installed at Goucher College, MD exhibit "The Ordinary Expands"
Installed at Goucher College, MD exhibit "The Ordinary Expands"
Installed at Goucher College, MD exhibit "The Ordinary Expands"
TRAshball in the wild.
TRAshball in the wild.
Installed during Ijams Nature Center's Water Fest event in Knoxville, TN