Posterchild’s “Alberta”

19Oct09

Nevermind the fact that it’s mid-October, Posterchild is already in the holiday mood, creating art from “unwanted things,” which in this case involves old newspaper and flyer boxes. As announced by PosterChild in his blog Blade Diary, “I have planted an Alberta Dwarf Pine- Hopefully it will do well in the cold weather coming. I have named her “Alberta”, and I hope someone will decorate her if she makes it ’till Christmas!”

The idea behind this specific work is to take these old, abandoned “space fillers” and give them a better use, effectively modifying the city when all is said and done. This newspaper box originally belonged to “The National,” which opening in January of 1990 and closed a short 18 months later. Somehow, its newspaper box has managed to exist untouched since then, and with PosterChild’s assistance now sprouts a pine sapling from its worn, rusty interior. It’s a great juxtaposition of color.

In general, PosterChild tends to create public works that are satirical, environmental, and political, taking particles from discarded urban environments, modifying them, and returning them to the city. “Exploiting these discarded objects arose as a natural result of maintaining a prolific art practice on a shoestring budget, but it has become intrinsic to my work and it is an important reflection of my purpose and attitude.”

Check out more of his work below.