Lot 40: CHRIS JORDAN (B. 1963)

CHRIS JORDAN (B. 1963)
Container Yard #1, Seattle, 2003
ultrachrome pigmented inkjet print
signed (on the verso); number 5 from an edition of 9
44 x 59in. (111.8 x 150cm.)

Jordan, Intolerable Beauty: Portraits of American Mass Consumption, Self-published, 2005

Paul Koepkin Gallery, Los Angeles

Chris Jordan has said his work addresses "the immense scale of our consumption". Concerned with consumer issues related to waste, overuse and environmental destruction, his work is driven to provoke and instigate change that will positively impact the environment.

At 38, Jordan left his 10 year law career to pursue photography full time. Working with a 8 x 10inch view camera and highly specialized film scanning lab, he is able to produce large-scale prints with an unparalleled clarity. Jordan seeks out waste management and recycling facilities, returning several times, if permitted, in order to get the perfect shot.

The present lot, Container Yard #1, Seattle, 2003, was made at the Port of Seattle. Jordan spied the containers from an overpass and stopped to ask if he could make a picture. He was told it was impossible, so he returned on a Sunday.