Trashin'

On Saturday, November 23, 2019, The Mighty Mississippi River exhibit will open at the Missouri History Museum, St. Louis. Watershed Cairns artist Libby Reuter was commissioned to create a large overhead sculpture from bottles, foam packaging-materials, and other non-biodegradable plastic that has been tossed onto the land, washing into storm sewers, creeks and rivers. Plastic litters riverbanks, harms marine life, affects the quality of our drinking water. And contributes to the trash floating in the Gulf of Mexico. Trashin’ contains only a small sample of the trash removed from parks and the Meramec and Mississippi rivers by volunteers for the Open Space Council, Operation Clean Stream, Missouri River Relief, Living Lands and Waters, and other volunteers in 2019. After washing the smaller plastic trash, Reuter and assistants (Amelia, Joshua, and Jamie) made over 100 two-to four-foot-long strings of bottles and objects including foam cups, footwear, toys, a gas can, mailbox, and tire swing.  These were tied to a wire grid on three wooden frames that have been suspended from the Gallery ceiling. We won’t be able to photograph the sculpture until the over 200 historical objects are safely installed and lit, but will post when photos are available.