A number of pieces in his "Running the Numbers" serieses (I and II) relate to our consumption of plastic. This piece depicts the number of plastic bottles consumed every minute in the United States in the form of 400,000 plastic bottle caps, resembling A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte when viewed from afar (photograph zoomable for the full effect on his website). Another favorite of ours, titled Plastic Bottles, depicts two million plastic bottles, the number consumed every five minutes in the U.S..
In a recent interview with Daily Good, Chris Jordan explained the difference between his "Running the Numbers" series and his latest work, photographing and filming on Midway Island.
I was always a little dissatisfied with my "Running the Numbers" work because what I really want to do is help people [to] understand that these global issues are personal to each one of us. I wanted to create a bridge between the global and the personal. My "Running the Numbers" work is inherently abstract, conceptual art. It points in the right direction, but what I'm really interested in is feeling. That's the power of art. It reminds you how you feel about something.
