Dumpsters proved full of inspiration, not trash, for veteran Rethinker AD Tony Woods’ latest solo fine art show Wasted.  

Tony has always been inspired by elements of urban landscapes such as graffiti and most recently, saw dumpsters as a medium for his art. For his pieces in Wasted, he photographed these brightly coloured fixtures of Vancouver’s streets, and started to arrange in them in collages and what resulted began to remind him of the abstract expressionism style made famous in the 1950’s and 1960’s. 

“I’ve always liked that kind of a feel to any kind of urban art that I’ve seen,” says Tony, “I kind of like the rough, gritty look rather than the real slick work that you see sometimes that other artists do.”

Wasted is running now through the end of February at Kee’s Laundry Gallery in Vancouver’s historic Chinatown. 

The Georgia Straight also interviewed Tony for their Portrait of an Artist feature. Read more about his inspiration for Wasted here.