I really had fun with this project. I was out wandering in April 2001 and stumbled upon a group of surplus railroad wheels, I took a few shots and began to look more closely at the form and texture. I could see a lot of interest and began to look for more examples of old metal as my interest grew. I was looking for a new project at the time I decided to pursue a search for as many metal objects as I could find. Not an easy task, since metal doesn’t just lie about everywhere. I decided I needed a real source and I was fortunate to develop a relationship with an executive of a major metal recycling facility. Well, now I was on a roll: I saw metal objects of every imaginable size, color, form and purpose, hundreds of tons of it in enormous mountains piled high. Imagine stacks of flattened automobiles piled 50 high! I went back many times and when I thought I’d seen everything, new surprises appeared. I was continuously fascinated by the variety of objects we throw away in our culture.
I took a break but I’ll surely go back in the Spring: I know that there will be tons and tons of other things that will have outlived their usefulness.
Chuck Ferris
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