Duke Riley: DEATH TO THE LIVING, Long Live Trash

 Artist Duke Reilly’s exhibition, DEATH TO THE LIVING, Long Live Trash at the Brooklyn Museum, presents a multi-media exploration of environmental degradation, specifically in regards to the pollution of the oceans, interpreted through both a historical and contemporary lens. Riley utilizes reclaimed single-use plastics as a medium for ink drawings that mimic scrimshaw, a form of engraving in which sailors would etch whale bones to depict scenes of the ocean. Riley uses things like discarded detergent containers, deodorant sticks, plastic bottles and even lawn flamingos as surfaces to create these contemporary “scrimshaw” works. The repurposing of these materials in this way highlights the contrast between the natural materials that they mimic, and the everlasting nature of plastic. Although the plastic materials that Riley works with stands in complete opposition to the bone that would have originally been used, the works are extremely convincing as scrimshaw objects. Upon first glance, and even upon second glance, I was convinced that these works were engraved bone or ivory. This is in part due to the meticulous color matching that Riley does to mimic the off-white color of the bone, and in part due to the imagery, which also mimics the maritime scenes that would have been portrayed in actual scrimshaw. Riley juxtaposes these traditional maritime scenes with scenes of corporate greed and pollution, and colonialism, creating a conversation between the past, the present, and the dystopian future that is presented by the careless polluting of our oceans and waterfronts.