My work with plastic shopping bags began because I did not have recycling in my Brooklyn neighborhood. I could not bear to throw out all the beautiful colored plastic, many of which evoked memories of shopping sprees or travels. As I started collecting these bags, I thought more and more about the reference of the product, service, or place that each bag advertised As I began to cut up and manipulate the material, I realized that even a fragment of a bag conveyed enough information to ‘complete the sentence’. This has led me to question how simply we, as individuals and as a culture, are driven by advertising and media images.
JUDY THOMAS
“The most kinetic street scene featured zany stuffed balls, called ‘Troubles’ by creator Judy Thomas, which pedestrians happily hurled and kicked at each other.”
John Korduba, Greenpoint Gazette
Judy Thomas
Troubles, 1993
plastic shopping bags, newspaper, tape
Outdoor Museum
Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY
Judy Thomas
Tether Ball: Snake, 1996
plastic shopping bags, newspaper, tape
Bedford Avenue
Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY
Judy Thomas
Trouble Ball, 1996
plastic shopping bags, newspaper, tape, wood, cord
Soho Carnival Show
New York, NY
Judy Thomas
Overflow Too 1996
plastic shopping bags, newspaper, tape, wood, metal
Anne Arundale College
Arnold, MD
Judy Thomas
Overflow, 1994
plastic shopping bags, newspaper, tape, wood, metal
Art Around the Park
Tompkins Square Park, NYC
Judy Thomas
Troubles (Lawn Games), 1993
plastic shopping bags, newspaper, tape
Osceola, Iowa
Judy Thomas
Troubles in the Creek, 1993
plastic shopping bags, newspaper, tape
Clarke County, Iowa
Troubles, 1993
plastic shopping bags, newspaper, tape
Outdoor Museum
Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY