Joey Young

Clarksdale, Mississippi

​The concept and inspiration for the recycled catfish cans comes from a crushed can found behind Red’s Lounge (a late night blues club) in Clarksdale, washed up from the Sunflower River which runs behind the club. The can resembled a catfish and many versions have been done since the initial found object. All are made from 100% recycled materials and part of a bigger series titled Recychedelta. The recycled guitar pick eyes are from an old Muddy Waters exhibit at the Blues Museum in Clarksdale. The piece is inspired by Catfish Blues by Muddy Waters and a personal favorite, Catfish & Cornbread by CeDell Davis.

Joey Young is a potter and painter from the Mississippi Delta; his work exhibits regional influences shaped by the complicated coexistence of cultures steeped in blues music, agriculture, and religion. Young's creations include functional pottery, raw landscapes rooted in a pastoral realism and expressionistic figures portraying universal and regional alienation.