Title: Sanitary?
Year: 2009
Dimensions: 30”h x 30”w x ¼"d"
Silk crepe de chine, silk broadcloth, silk Indian Doupioni, silk dyes, water soluble resist, polyester batting, rayon/viscose and polyester thread.
Sanitary? is part of a triptych of artworks about land use near San Francisco Bay. The triptych is inspired by a talk by the poet Gary Snyder where he asked the audience bioregional questions such as 'do you know where your water comes from?' 'do you know where it goes when you're done with it?' 'do you know where your garbage goes?' and so on. Sanitary? is an aerial view of Newby Island Sanitary Landfill in Milpitas, one of several landfills on the San Francisco Bay. Newby Island adds 4,000 tons of garbage daily to its 342-acre pile which is nearing its maximum permitted height of 120 feet. The company website states the landfill is surrounded by a levee which keeps runoff from entering the bay, and they treat runoff on-site; contaminants are kept from leaching into the groundwater with a synthetic liner and under-drain system. When these systems fail, the bay and groundwater get contaminated. We need to find ways to reuse what we “throw away” because really, there is no “away.” Waste is dumped into landfills around the bay and ultimately into our water system.
Buy: Available in this set of greeting cards
Details: Scroll down for detail image and more information
Detail image of: Sanitary?
Techniques: silk painting and machine quilting
Press: this artwork appears in the following publications, click on an image below:
June 9-30, 2011 Reflections on Water, Katherine Nash Gallery, Minneapolis, MN.
May 18 - June 20, 2010 Worlds, Triton Museum, Santa Clara, CA.
October 8 - November 22, 2009 Still Water, Dalton Gallery, Agnes Scott College, Atlanta, GA.
June 20 - August 16, 2009 Seeing Green: Visions of a Changing Planet, Visions Museum, San Diego, CA.
Additional info: in the collection of the Kapor Center for Social Impact