My research on the concept and value hidden within the common “junk drawer” is driven by my interest in the urban mine.
An urban mine is the “stockpile of rare metals in the discarded waste electrical and electronic equipment of a society. Urban mining is the process of recovering these rare metals through mechanical and chemical treatments” [1]. “On a conceptual level, it looks towards the waste generated by cities and urban environments as a valuable resource, using anthropogenic stocks rather than geological to meet the demands of manufacturing” [2].
While the focus is generally understood as being the excavation of rare metals, I am interested in looking beyond those materials and aim to identify the value hidden within all objects that land in our junk drawers. My goal is to understand if the halfway discarded objects in our lives can find new life and add value.
Photo Exploration
When I started this project, my perceived conceptual model of a junk drawer was that it is a middle ground for our things. Some objects that are deposited in this space are important and useful, but the interactions are few and far between. And the rest is just waiting to be discarded.
The first step in my research is to test whether my perception is true. In order to gain a better understanding of exactly what things individuals put in their so-called junk drawers, I embarked upon an ongoing photography project to visually document these spaces.
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I started reaching out to friends, family, and peers at Carnegie Mellon asking if they were open to my photographing their junk drawers. In tandem, I designed and hung posters (as seen on the left) in various locations across the CMU campus.
I quickly realized that most individuals were less comfortable with me coming into their personal space due to the pandemic, so I decided to put the creative power in their hands and have them take the pictures themselves.
I realized there was a deeper story that could be told through the way they captured their own space and that was perhaps more interesting. Similar to the work of Nikki S. Lee in which she would give her camera to her subject or passerby to capture the moment.
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I realized early on that the phrase “junk drawer” didn’t resonate with everyone and some took offense to my classifying their objects in this way.
While it seems to be universally true that most individuals have a specific container for myriad resources in their home, the way they classify it ranges.
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I aim to create localized reports to understand how a “mining” system could add value to a community based on the common objects its residents have.
I will also be presenting the collected data via an interactive world map to further express the locality of the images.
Collingswood, New Jersey, USA
“Highly intelligent people are never organized in the conventional sense. But nothing I have is junk it’s all usable.”
Taipei, Taiwan
“I think the mask is a souvenir from a haunted house. The second photo is from a friend’s house. I can’t understand how she sleeps in this.”
Mansfield, Ohio, USA
“Two of these are my junk drawers at work. I realize they just confirm my OCD issues!”
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
“I have a very messy drawer in studio…”
Cape Elizabeth, Maine, USA
“I have a junk drawer in every room…”
Wyckoff, New Jersey, USA
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
“I’m actually in the middle of heavy cleaning…”
Yonkers, NY, USA
“I wish I had taken these last week, I recently did a huge clean out of all my cabinets and drawers!”
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Oswego, New York, USA
“Our first [child] has a shrine in a baby box and baby #2 gets the junk drawer.”
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China
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Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
“If you need any more let me know, I have plenty!”
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Stowe, Massachusetts, USA
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Collingswood, New Jersey, USA
“This is as messy as it gets. I’m pretty organized!”
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Wake Forest, North Carolina, USA