2017 Jack Straw Writer Brandon Young spoke with curator Jourdan Imani Keith about hoarding and its range of meanings and expressions, from bountiful treasure to suffocating trash. Brandon and Jourdan explore the idea that hoarding can provide salvation from an emotional trauma and is often a sign of an insecure environment. For Brandon’s work, he interviewed people about their relationships with objects and discovered the memories and potential that can be contained in things: “She looks back and says, ‘I wore this then’”; “A coupon might be used one day. An old pair of shoes might be repaired.”

Music by the Steve Griggs Ensemble, produced as part of the Jack Straw Artist Support Program.