Studio Projects > Floating Artifacts

Floating Artifacts, #38
Floating Artifacts, #38
Pigmented Ink Print
2016
Floating Artifacts, #20
Floating Artifacts, #20
Pigmented Ink Print
2016
Floating Artifacts, #19
Floating Artifacts, #19
Pigmented Ink Print
2016
Floating Artifacts, #26
Floating Artifacts, #26
Pigmented Ink Print
2016
Floating Artifacts, #33
Floating Artifacts, #33
Pigmented Ink Print
2016
Floating Artifacts, #27
Floating Artifacts, #27
Pigmented Ink Print
2016
Floating Artifacts, #37
Floating Artifacts, #37
Pigmented Ink Print
2016
Floating Artifacts, #7
Floating Artifacts, #7
Pigmented Ink Print
2014
Floating Artifacts, #35
Floating Artifacts, #35
Pigmented Ink Print
2016
Floating Artifacts, # 12
Floating Artifacts, # 12
Pigmented Ink Print
36" x 48"
2014
Floating Artifacts, #11
Floating Artifacts, #11
Pigmented Ink Print
2014
Floating Artifacts, # 9
Floating Artifacts, # 9
Pigmented Ink Print
36" X 48"
2014
Floating Artifacts, # 8
Floating Artifacts, # 8
Pigmented Ink Print
36" x 48"
2014
Floating Artifacts, # 5
Floating Artifacts, # 5
Pigmented Ink Print
36" x 48"
2014
Floating Artifacts, # 4
Floating Artifacts, # 4
Pigmented Ink Print
36" x 48"
2014

Floating Artifacts has been featured in:
TIME for World Oceans Day
GRIST
Big Red and Shiny
The Tufts Daily
The Boston Globe

Floating Artifacts examines the life cycles of ocean debris—from ancient organisms, to fossil fuel at the base of the ocean, to quickly manufactured plastic toys and tools on land, and back to the ocean as floating fragments of contemporary life.

As an ongoing project, Rydz conducts coastal field studies, gleaning tiny samples of debris that have washed ashore. She magnifies and documents her findings under a microscope to create portrait-sized photographs. The resulting body of work encourages active contemplation about the material properties of these samples in relation to our ideas about oceans, time, and the production of everyday objects.