In this series, I explore themes of overconsumption and the staggering waste generated by our global trade systems. Using discarded ratchet straps from the Port of Charleston, SC, an industrial site central to global shipping and commerce, I weave these utilitarian materials over Amazon and other shipping boxes, transforming them into “holiday gifts.” The irony of this transformation is intentional: what appears as a festive object is, in fact, a reflection of the waste that often goes unseen in our daily lives.

The ratchet straps, once vital components in securing goods during transport across oceans and interstates, now sit discarded in dumpsters, a symbol of the short-lived value placed on materials within a system that prioritizes efficiency and profit. The increasing cycle of buying ever-cheaper goods, which often last only a short time before being discarded, has intensified this waste. By repurposing these straps, I aim to highlight the nature of consumption, where resources are used, discarded, replaced and often overlooked. This work comments on the larger issue of unsustainable consumption, the environmental costs caused by Western countries, often dumped in third-world nations or washing up onshore and the vast waste created by the flow of goods around the world.

In this series, the apparent cheerfulness of the "gifts" contrasts with the environmental impact of the global trade system that feeds our insatiable demand for goods. The momentary elation we feel when shopping or receiving a present fades quickly, and we’re left with an accumulation of things that aren’t going anywhere soon. I want to challenge the viewer to rethink the value of objects, the systems behind their production, and our relationship to the waste that follows.