Artist: Miles Epstein

February 15th, 2014

Wrack is an old European word meaning destruction and wreckage, particularly in regards to ships. Wrack is also seaweed.  Long undulating lines of kelp, sea grass, or other ocean debris carried far up the beach at high tide are sometimes called ‘wrack lines’.

Salvage is another old word with multiple definitions. The most common refers to ships, as in their rescue, or picking through valuable cargo after the vessels have run aground. It also has everyday definitions, such as “the saving and utilization of scrap paper.”
 
In the dictionary salvage sits beneath salvation, which I haven’t yet found. But for the last six years I have been looking for and finding some interesting scraps of paper, many of which you can see here today.
 
Miles Epstein was born in 1960, and grew up reading about and watching various rockets launch. On the American side it was the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programs. For the Soviets it was the Soyuz. And for Miles, it was lots and lots of cardboard and balsa wood models from the Estes Model Rocket company.
 
In recent years, his interests have moved directly underfoot, specifically the city in which he lives, and the systems operating under its streets. He is honored to show his work in this most appropriate space.