What The Life Of A Hoarder Looks Like

We all sort of gape in horror at the people on those home organization shows like HGTV’s “Mission: Organization” and TLC’s “Clean Sweep” but sometimes, the overcollection of stuff is no laughing matter. For some, the collection of stuff gets so out of control it becomes a legit compulsion and disease called hoarding. People can hoard stuff, food and even (sadly) animals. The new installation on the main floor of the Museum of Modern Art takes a closer look at one woman’s life as a compulsive hoarder—it’s a public viewing of her life-long collection. Chinese artist Song Dong organized and displayed every single item from his mother’s home, including numerous television sets, toothpaste tubes, plastic bottles, thousands of plastic bottle caps, legless dolls, cardboard boxes, and shoes in an exhibition called “Waste Not.” It’s truly staggering. [MoMA via Apartment Therapy]