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What for most were mere trash items turned into an unexpected collectible. An artist from New York transformed the litter collected in the surroundings of Madison Square Garden after the wedding of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce into art pieces that sold out in less than 24 hours and reached prices of 100 dollars.
The person behind the initiative is Justin Gignac, an artist from Queens, who on July 3rd, just hours after the ceremony, walked the streets near the venue to collect the waste that had been left behind after the event.
He then sealed each item inside transparent acrylic cubes and marketed them under the name "New York City Garbage: Not Invited Edition."
The smaller models, named Pocket Garbage, went on sale for 25 dollars, while the larger versions reached 100 dollars.
Inside the bins, there's everything: cigarette butts, Ring Pop wrappers, straws, bottle caps, plastic utensils, a lost AirPod, and even an unused ovulation test.
Some pieces also include the seal "JUST&T MARRIED! 7/3/26," a reference to the illuminated sign that appeared on the facade of Madison Square Garden to announce the couple's marriage.
According to a report by The Business Standard, Gignac has produced over 1,300 signed and odor-free bins since he started this artistic project, although for this special edition he only made 50 units available for sale online, which sold out almost immediately.
The artist, however, never attempted to make people believe that the objects came from within the celebration.
"I wasn't invited, unfortunately, so I couldn't get any of that good inside gossip," he joked during an interview with the station Kiss 92.5.
For Gignac, the appeal of the collection lies not in the objects themselves, but in the moment and place where they were found: the sidewalks surrounding Madison Square Garden on the day of one of the most talked-about weddings of the year.
In the description of the collection on their website, the idea of the project is summarized as follows:
"There’s trash on the ground after the party. Picked up from the edge of a love story outside Madison Square Garden, the closest one could be to Taylor and Travis's big day without an invitation."
The response from Swift's followers did not surprise those familiar with the phenomenon of the Swiftie community.
"I believe that among Taylor Swift's fans, people would do anything for her. I see people buying entire boxes just to have them," commented Natalia Cruz, a resident of Midtown, to CBS News New York.
The wedding of Swift and Kelce, held at Madison Square Garden, brought together nearly 1,000 guests, was officiated by actor Adam Sandler, and, according to various reports, had an estimated cost between 15 and 20 million dollars.
The impact of the link even reached the White House, which responded humorously by posting a manipulated image of the wedding banner set up in front of the venue on social media.
For Gignac, this is not an isolated occurrence. Since 2001, he has been developing an artistic project in which he transforms garbage collected during historical events in New York into collectible pieces. Among these are remnants from Barack Obama's inauguration in 2009 and the celebration parade of the New York Giants after winning the Super Bowl in 2012.
The success of this edition once again demonstrates the immense commercial power of the Swift phenomenon. After the historic Eras Tour, which sold over 10 million tickets and surpassed $2 billion in revenue, even the litter collected on the streets near a celebration related to the singer can become a coveted souvenir for her fans.
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