ARTIST STATEMENT –
‘Wasted’ is a series of photographs picturing the afterlife of abandoned objects in and around Washington County, Maine. These images catalog the decay of abandoned machinery and other designed objects; focusing on the things we thoughtlessly throw away, from cheap objects designed to break, to tools and machines made by highly skilled labor. They serve as evidence of waste of not just our planetary resources, but a waste of human resources. ‘Wasted” uses the power of photography to look at the designed world in a new way; wherein automation and the tools used to increase efficiency and productivity are not benign. The relics in this series serve as a portal into the history of labor and the unintended consequences of designing an economy whose primary focus is to minimize human input into manufacturing. Ultimately this series asks us to consider an object’s life from design to creation, to use and finally to abandonment.

Artist’s BIO
Andrea Fortunoff is a native New Yorker, an architect, photographer and dancer. Since she was given her first camera at 12 she developed a passion for photography. After graduating from Tulane University with a B.A. in Systems Theory, Andrea worked in the New Orleans area as a computer systems analyst. Returning to New York and school, Andrea graduated from Pratt Institute with a B.A. in Architecture and worked in the tri-state area as a registered architect for 30 years. Andrea’s recent studies at the International Center for Photography in NYC and with John Paul Caponigro  and Stella Johnson have helped to hone her artistic vision of the natural and constructed environment. Andrea is currently an exhibiting member of fotofoto Gallery and B.J. Spoke Gallery in Huntington, N.Y.