Jennifer McKinnon Richman is an Atlanta-based photographic artist using dumpster walls to explore the impact of human waste and consumption on the natural world. Originally attracted to dumpster walls for their interesting compositions and unique combinations of soft and hard lines - Jennifer photographed the walls with the intention of creating abstract paintings using the weathered surfaces as inspiration. Over time she started to see storms, beaches, flowers, and other elements of nature created by natural and unnatural elements. At the same time, the amount of trash and waste found in and around these dumpsters prompted Jennifer to do more than just take abstract photographs of dumpster walls. Drawing on her background in decoupage and collage, Jennifer started experimenting with digital compositing. Uncontained Consumption is a series of photographic images transforming dumpster walls into oceans as a commentary on the impact of human waste and consumption on our oceans.Mimicking the process by which floating garbage patches and underwater landfills are formed, bits and pieces of photographs of dumpster walls are layered and pieced together using photoshop, transforming oceans into dumpsters, literally and figuratively. Her new series of digital photo composites explores the beauty of our oceans, while bringing to light how our consumption is polluting our oceans. Grease stains dissolve into beautiful ocean blue hues; grime found along the bottom of a dumpster is transformed into sandy shores; paint splatter is converted into white sea foam. Each piece in the series represents a common form of debris found during coastal cleanups including cigarette butts (Beach Bum), plastic water bottles (Drink), plastic utensils and cups (Seaside), single-use plastics (Ripples), take-out containers (Sand Dollars), bottlecaps (Whitecaps), and more. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, 80% of the marine debris found in the ocean is the direct result of “trash, packaging and waste improperly disposed of on land... washing into rivers, streams, lakes and creeks, and from there to the ocean. The remaining 20% is attributed to at-sea losses from ocean going vessels, from lost or abandoned fishing gear and from accidental or intentional dumping.” Jennifer’s work captures the beauty of our planet by using an unusual subject to raise awareness about the impact of human waste and consumption on our natural world.