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Issue link: https://digital.macdirectory.com/i/898
MacDirectory 143 COVER STORY you and me. It may be hard to relate to personally when you hear a statistic that 60,000 plastic bags are used in the United States every 5 seconds. But when you're standing in front of a 5'x6' print of 60,000 plastic bags that makes your eyes cross, it may get you thinking about where this waste goes and how much you may have contributed to that pile over the years. And that's the first step on the road to recovery - admitting the problem. Jordan will be the first to step up and admit it. "In the position that I'm in, I'm in no position to preach or wag my finger at anybody," he said. "I mean, I have some personal shame about it. And I hope that we all do, somewhere, but I think a lot of us aren't willing to go there. It's one of our problems as a country right now." The Cold, Hard Facts What is the extent of this problem? Let's look at some of the numbers Jordan has come across with his work: • 400,000 American deaths each year from cigarette smoking • 170,000 disposable Energizer batteries created every 15 minutes • 9 million American children without health care in 2007 • 2 million plastic bottles used in the United States every five minutes • 11,000 commercial flights in the United States every eight hours • 15 million sheets of office paper used every five minutes • 29,569 gun-related deaths in one year We are even facing new types of pollution as technology progresses, such as the introduction of e-waste into our waste streams. Computers, circuit boards, iPods, often not properly recycled, are all adding to the pile-up - as well as adding toxic chemicals into the mix. I could go on, but this is just statistics. It is witnessing Jordan's prints in person that could make this really hit home and know that the change needs to start with you. But where do you start the change? So Now What? If you ask Jordan if his work implies a solution, he'll tell you that everyone asks that same question: "Okay, we have a problem? So now what?" Actually, we have the solution. We have known for years that it starts with holding ourselves and each other responsible, curbing our consumption and wasteful habits. But we just aren't doing it. Jordan points out that in the past 10 years alone, the tonnage of American imports has doubled! So maybe the problem isn't knowing the solution, it's the apathy of disconnect. We as a nation just aren't realizing how this problem relates to us and thus lack the motivation to spring into action. And this is what Jordan's work aspires to provide the solution to – taking the stats about our mass culture and translating the data from numbers to a visual language to connect with his audience. His philosophy about our handling of the consumption problem explains why it is necessary for his work to elicit an emotional response: "I don't think we're bad people, and consumed by greed, or you know, DETAIL OF "CELL PHONES #2, ATLANTA 2005" > ACTUAL SIZE 44" X 90"