In 2012, Jennifer Maravillas set out on foot to each block of Brooklyn, collecting litter for an art

In 2012, Jennifer Maravillas set out on foot to each block of Brooklyn, collecting litter for an art piece titled 71 Square Miles.

“If you look closely you see an array of languages, elements of design, and ideas represented in these bits of garbage.”

Walking more than 70 miles around Brooklyn felt like a tour of the world’s religions, Maravillas says: “There were neighborhoods with strong religious identities. It always feels like reading a book when you go on a big walk.”

71 Square Miles is currently on display at the BRIC House gallery’s “Mapping Brooklyn” exhibit, alongside other artists’ cartographic renditions of the borough.