SECOND NATURE

Recycling has become an ingrained part of daily life—a seemingly unconscious ritual of sorting and discarding. Yet the afterlife of these materials is far more complex than we often consider. Once used, they embark on uncertain journeys: reconstituted as new commodities, buried in landfills, or left to decompose over centuries.

During her 2018 residency at Recology’s Materials Recovery Facility (MRF), Phillips explored the material excess that defines contemporary culture by working with objects designed for disposability and offering little potential for reuse. These ubiquitous yet overlooked remnants reveal a subtle tension between utility and waste, necessity and surplus. Material selection became both instinctive and deliberate—guided by form, color, and gesture. Through sustained engagement, certain objects began to reveal unexpected significance. What once seemed mundane gained resonance, and transformed through repetition and attention into something rare, strange, and quietly meaningful.