#0015 Wheelie bins
Photography
The collector: Judith Genster, designer, Germany.
The collection: Documentary photographs of wheelie bins.
The story behind the collection:
The first time that a wheelie bin caught my eye was in Liverpool. It was a street dotted with purple wheelie bins and set the mood for a happy spring day. Liverpool is the best city to see wheelie bins because they have these hilarious/hideous purple ones, often clashing with the red of the houses. And they have a lot of rubbish on the streets, even despite the many many wheely bins.
I like them because nobody looks at them, but they are everywhere! And it is a non-cheesy collection. And maybe because looking at pictures of wheelie bins without smelling them is nicer than observing the real object.
They are things you need and at the same time you do not want them. So they appear in various degrees of hiding to trying to make them a beautiful thing. Some live an absolutely disgusting life, others seem to be petted and locked away or are placed into an idyllic scenery.
There is a folder on my hard drive full of wheelie bins. And I made a photo album last year which now sleeps in my shelf. All the photos since then are scattered in between my other photo folders. I am thinking of tagging them so that I ll have a folder less on my drive.
Generally I like the brightly coloured ones the best. I guess one of my top favourite is the single wheelie bin in Manchester in a narrow alleyway, where the house to the left and right have details in one colour each and the wheelie bin another one. It is one of my early finds and a beautiful side of wheelie bin-ness.
What's still missing from your collection?
There is a wheelie bin in the valley of Elm in Switzerland that has a different shape than the ones I have got. When I went past in a car I couldn´t stop. I am planning to go back there for next New Years anyway, so I know I’ll take the picture then.
Thinking about missing items, I have to take a picture of the ones in my parents attic, new ones, where they store tents and sleeping bags in. My father is a plastics engineer, that's why he got some.
Do you have any other collections?
No, not really. I still have a “very short pencil collection” at home, but I don t add to it anymore.
Are you obsessed?
Yep. My friends know about it and are starting to get used to not feeling embarrassed anymore when I stop at a wheelie bin - again! And I feel sorry, if not guilty when I have to rush past a nice wheelie bin assembly but do not have time to take a picture.
Judith's favourite wheelie bin links:
Bin jumper game
Kenny Dalglish and Liverpook FC stars sign fans red wheelie bin
Images © Judith Genster and used with her kind permission.
Reader Comments (1)
so cool...I want one of the purple one´s for my place.... :)