The "scrimshaw" depict New York City landfill sites: Shirley Chisholm State Park, formerly Pennsylvania Avenue and Fountain Avenue Landfills in the Spring Creek neighborhood in Brooklyn; Freshkills Park, formerly Fresh Kills Landfill in Staten Island; Rockaway Community Park, formerly Edgemere Landfill in Queens; and the Dr. T.J. Eckleburg's billboard from The Great Gatsby was located in the novel in the "valley of ashes," now known as Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens.

The wrought iron frame device is inspired by the window grills of New York City. All of the four "scrimshaw" are painted in the round, which are less common among Duke Riley's work of this series.