By this point we shouldn't need highway road signs, a "Crying Indian" or revamped Los Lonely Boys songs to remind us not to litter. It should be common sense. And yet last year, photographer Dylan Hollingsworth captured on film an area of White Rock Lake that had essentially been turned into a mini landfill of trash and recyclable material. He was shocked; the community was shocked. But sadly, that wasn't the first time such a wasteland was created (or, fortunately, cleaned up). Dallas-based sustainable non-profit group Shared FUEL (Focus on Urban Environmental Leadership) jumpstarts its Talkin' Trash series on litter and environmental education and awareness with Trashing Our Treasure, a photography exhibition featuring Hollingsworth as well as Annemarie Marek, Mike Stovall, Benjamin J. Hager, Houston Brown and Nancy Black. The photographs expose litter as it preys on the 100-year-old White Rock Lake, triggering conversation on how to prevent a recurrence in the new century. And yet, the works are very much artistic--they showcase talent in capturing an area so hyper-local while presenting it in a manner that is at once visually stunning and universally maddening. Trashing Our Treasure hangs through April 17 (with an artists' reception from 7 to 9 p.m. January 29), at the Bath House Cultural Center, 521 E. Lawther Drive. Call 214-670-8749 or visit bathhousecultural.com.
Tuesdays-Saturdays. Starts: Jan. 8. Continues through April 17, 2011