We are used to throwing away objects to forget about other things if we don’t want to face any memories associated with it. If we do not throw things away, we can no longer live on, buried under the past.

We take out the garbage by the same token. We bury rubbish as if burying dead creatures or things meant to be abandoned or forgotten. The earth willingly embraces life forms and gives rise to life again. This is the sacredness the earth retains. We do not stop burying things due to our belief that the earth extinguishes and then returns things again. Even still, garbage dies hard. Even though waste turns into dust, liquid, or gas, it still remains. Only its state changes, and it does not disappear forever.

Waste will return to us eventually. The waste we abandoned will cover our reality at an unexpected time. Nevertheless, we cannot stop throwing away things, even if doing so will completely destroy our lives. This is because we try to gain life by abandoning it.

When I first rose to the top of a landfill, I felt as if I were standing on a grave of the past that had been abandoned by mankind. The cityscape seen from this colossal grave looked unfamiliar and peaky. Such graves will expand into the city some day. Only then will we face the past. We have no choice but to readjust our lives on the day we confront our past.

• Photograph: Sinyong Park
• Text: Hyun Jung, Sinyong Park
• Design: Yongwan Jeon
• Translation: Art and Text
• Sponsor: Incheon Foundation for Arts & Culture