He Collected Trash For 2 Years. Find Out Why At Montclair Art Exhibit

MONTCLAIR, NJ — For nearly two years, Andrew Borg collected garbage without knowing why. The trash began piling up: molded trays, plastics, foams, caps and packaging inserts that carry no recycling code and vanish into the trash without a thought.

Eventually, Borg – a trained painter, dancer and arts teacher – realized that he was refusing to throw them away as an act of defiance. That’s when his obsession started to transform into an act of appreciation, he says.

Soon, he began to assemble the motley items into a work of art that asks viewers to make a conscious choice to “look again” at the craft embedded in what we discard, and at our own constant contributions to a stream of toxic materials that will outlast us by generations.

The result? An upcoming exhibit that will go on display in Montclair.

Borg will display “Unrecyclable: Look Again” from Aug. 14 to Aug. 22 at The Space, 356 Bloomfield Avenue. Gallery hours are Wednesday through Saturday from noon to 5 p.m.

An opening reception will take place from 5 to 8 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 14.

In keeping with The Space’s “participatory community spirit,” the public will be invited to create their own assemblage artworks during the opening reception, using unrecyclable materials and art supplies provided by the gallery.

“When you stop and look — really look — these are not formless trash,” Borg said. “They are highly engineered, purpose-built objects: molded to cushion, position, and protect, their materials and geometries chosen with precision and care. They are aesthetic objects in their own right, designed by someone and meant to be forgotten by everyone.”

“The assemblages in this show are built from that two-year collection, composed to make the invisible visible,” Borg added.

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