What Is A Junk Monster?

No, that’s not the slang term for a hoarder, although it would totally fit. Junk monsters are the strange suits London-based photographer Danny Treacy crafts from items he finds in “lonely places,” like the woods, parking lots, and landfills. Once the junk monster suit is completed to Treacy’s satisfaction, he wears it in his life-size self-portraits for his ongoing series Them. The suits and series are described on his website as “nightmares of the catwalk, prowling around the outskirts of style’s dumb extravagance.” Although these found items morph into one collective piece, each garment has a story to tell on its own—“It seems that something that happened to its former owner emanates from each piece of fabric,” wrote photography blogger Isabelle on Cyana Trend Land.

Some, including myself until I took a second look, may argue that this isn’t art. But I’d advise them to look a little closer. Don’t you want to know the stories behind each piece of fabric? It’s a good thing Treacy doesn’t tell us what he knows because then our imaginations would be stunted. Plus, we can also try to figure out what his message is. I think the above junk monster is trying to warn us against the dangers of global warming. It’s saying no amount of protective clothing will ward off the inevitable body bag.

After the jump, two other junk monster photos.