'The art-based research series Ubiquitous Trash depicts the social life of the strange abandoned objects we call trash. The series is designed to develop and activate an archive of global trash taxonomy. Trash is everywhere, all the time. We do not cease to produce it, and it does not disappear. In each piece of refuse a gesture is left that allows us to gain insight into human culture. Combinations of numerous carefully considered trash attributes collectively begin to form an extraordinary and valuable social portrait that transcends the nationalities and cultures that create them. Trash tells us who we are, but it also reveals what we decide to leave aside - out of sight -.

From the micro to the macro, the Hong Kong Edition explores the signs and marks imprinted on trash collected from public spaces and from official waste sites. The art collective TRES employs the intimate view that photography provides, as well as collected objects, drawings, and site-specific research methods. The essays of Jérôme Monnet, Charles Merewether, and Héctor Castillo Berthier extend the exploration of trash into other disciplinary views.' (Excerpt from back cover)