“Trash or Treasure”

This series was inspired by my childhood. My dad has worked for the family junkyard and wrecker service most of my life, so I almost consider the junkyard more of my home than any house I’ve ever lived in. Every day I’d wake up and explore until dark. My cousins and I would climb junk cars, tear up seats to find pennies and dimes, and fix up old bikes so we could ride to the gas station and by a soda with the change we found.

As I’ve gotten older, I don’t go exploring in the same manner. Now, when I visit my childhood home, I bring a camera and take photos of everything. I have come to realize that although the title of the place is “junkyard”, a lot of the items there once belonged to someone. These items weren’t always considered junk. And sometimes, if you look at things through a different lens, there is no junk. Only treasure waiting to be discovered.

Continue below to view the series. It is a current project, so I will be adding artwork as I complete it. Enjoy! -Natalie Grace, 2024