Hempstead Recycling Plant 1978

Curator: This is Elaine Mayes' "Hempstead Recycling Plant". Editor: It's bleak, isn't it? The smoke plume just dominates everything. Curator: Mayes’ work often engages with themes of environmental degradation. This piece is interesting because of its focus on a recycling plant, which ostensibly is meant to mitigate environmental damage, but we see it as a source of pollution itself. Editor: The stark black and white emphasizes that binary, almost. The means of production – the factory itself – becomes the subject. The material reality is inescapable. Curator: It's a powerful statement about the complex relationships between industry, environment, and social responsibility. Editor: I see a commentary on the very material processes we engage in when we try to fix our messes. Curator: Indeed, it prompts reflection on the true costs of our consumption. Editor: A chillingly effective image.