Ian Trask

Ian Trask is a sculptor who received a degree in biology from Bowdoin College in 2005. After Bowdoin he worked as a genetics research technician, but eventually left that world to pursue fine art. While transitioning away from lab work Trask got a job as a hospital groundskeeper cleaning up trash daily, an experience that was formative to his artistic development. He learned to see potential in refuse materials and gradually built a creative practice that drew inspiration from the waste stream. Before moving to midcoast Maine in 2015, he was living in Brooklyn, NY where he was an active member of the Invisible Dog artist community.

"My work is a reflection on societal attitudes towards material things and the destructive impact those attitudes have on our communities and environment. The task of confronting our waste problem is soberingly difficult, and I try to share new perspectives on how to reimagine what would otherwise get thrown away. It’s a slice of resourceful optimism in the face of a problem that is often defined by feelings of shame and helplessness. What started as a personal exploration gradually evolved into a collaboration with an engaged community eager to donate their discards to a symbiotic process that connects through creative reuse."