Beer Can Totem, 2011 by David Welch

The totem pole has long had multiple purposes—to reflect cultural beliefs and storytelling, to portray artistic expression and even to publicly shame debtors. It's likely Contender David Welch was well aware of the layered reading of totem poles when he constructed and photographed a series of his own totems for his current project Material World. In the series, discarded products that are ubiquitous in mass consumerism are stacked tall and made the central focus of the images. The objects that once provided material comfort are now making apparent the excess and waste we often overlook.

Plastic Totem, 2010 by David Welch

In his artist statement, Welch explains:

Material World is my response to our contemporary consumer milieu. By treating these artifacts of consumer culture as Duchampian-inspired Assisted Readymades, I photograph assemblages—both created by my own hand or existing naturally—that form monuments, or totems, serving as precarious externalizations of culture and social biography. The photographs of the totems then serve as symbolic mirrors that serve as points of reflection for my own contemplative gaze and that of society's. The photographs speak of accumulation and materiality and aim to encourage debate about consumption and the ways in which we feel compelled to consume.

Shopping Totem, 2010 by David Welch

Originally an economist, David Welch is a fine art photographer based on the island of Martha's Vineyard. His interests are in large-format photography, art history, theory and the fabricated image. He recently graduated from the Savannah College of Art and Design, where he was awarded his MFA in photography. For more images from the series, including totems made of toilet paper, televisions, satellites and cars, head to the artist's site.