Chris Jordan’s Art Photography – Waste Not, Want Not

Numbers are sexy, fascinating and creative.

Yes, I may be a bit on the nerdy side, but I know that everyone will enjoy the “numbers” that make up the statistical description of the strangely seductive digital photography of Chris Jordan.

Statistics such as 50,000 cigarette lighters to 48,000 plastic spoons, as well as a mind-boggling amount of fossilized shark teeth, airplane flights, plastic cups and many other ordinary items coupled with the creation of astonishing photographs will mesmerize you.

Jordan’s industrious passion for conservation and awareness has brought a lot of attention to recycling and the environment as well as his artistry. He uses everyday objects to make a broad statement about consumerism and waste which is imaginatively expressed in each photograph.

On Chris Jordan’s site, clicking an photograph will zoom you into the picture like a slow moving Star Trek Enterprise until you are taken to the basis of the photo. It is way too cool and I’ve clicked on every photograph with equal thrill.

Enjoy!

Packing Peanuts
Depicts 166,000 packing peanuts, equal to the number of overnight packages shipped by air in the U.S. every hour.

Car Keys
Depicts 260,000 car keys, equal to the number of gallons of gasoline burned in motor vehicles in the US every minute.

Shipping Containers
Depicts 38,000 shipping containers, the number of containers processed through American ports every twelve hours.

Valve Caps
Depicts 3.6 million tire valve caps, one for each new SUV sold in the US in 2004.

Plastic Bags
Depicts 60,000 plastic bags, the number used in the US every five seconds.

Oil Barrels
Depicts 28,000 42-gallon barrels, the amount of oil consumed in the United States every two minutes (equal to the flow of a medium-sized river).

Cell Phones
Depicts 426,000 cell phones, equal to the number of cell phones retired in the US every day.

Prison Uniforms
Depicts 2.3 million folded prison uniforms, equal to the number of Americans incarcerated in 2005. The U.S. has the largest prison population of any country in the world.

Dog and Cat Collars
Depicts ten thousand dog and cat collars, equal to the average number of unwanted dogs and cats euthanized in the United States every day.

Handguns
Depicts 29,569 handguns, equal to the number of gun-related deaths in the US in 2004.

Over the Moon
Depicts 29,000 credit cards, equal to the average number of personal bankruptcy filings every week in the US in 2010.

Cans Seurat
Depicts 106,000 aluminum cans, the number used in the US every thirty seconds.

Plastic Bottles
Depicts two million plastic beverage bottles, the number used in the US every five minutes.

Finally, the last one is my personal favorite!

No, not because it is a naked woman’s torso, but because it is Barbie Dolls!

Is this cool or is this really cool?!

Barbie Dolls
Depicts 32,000 Barbies, equal to the number of elective breast augmentation surgeries performed monthly in the US in 2006.