EROSION AND SEDIMENT
ARTIST Adelaide Theriault
FERAL ECOLOGIES Water, Commercial Food Crops, Soil, Burr Clover, Synthetic Materials
LOCATION Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
CONCEPT In the wake of the power crisis in Texas in February 2021, Theriault discovered a single burr clover seed sprouting in their flood-soaked clothing. Months later, moving to New Mexico, they were once again fascinated by instances of life sprouting, growing and blooming from waste at a local wastewater plant — bindweed trails and elm saplings growing from the grates and the drains of fertile machines. Inspired by these experiences, Theriault collected laundry lint from homes and public laundry mats. In aggregations reminiscent of geological formations, the laundry lint contains layers of information about textile and material life cycles, mimicking natural processes of erosion and deposition. Documenting these formations as archaeological objects of our present material culture, Erosion & Sediment is an interrogation into a present and future where microfibres are increasingly introduced into natural ecosystems across the globe via our laundry, sewage and water treatment systems.
THOUGHTS ON EROSION AND SEDIMENT ︎︎︎
FERAL ECOLOGIES Water, Commercial Food Crops, Soil, Burr Clover, Synthetic Materials
LOCATION Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
CONCEPT In the wake of the power crisis in Texas in February 2021, Theriault discovered a single burr clover seed sprouting in their flood-soaked clothing. Months later, moving to New Mexico, they were once again fascinated by instances of life sprouting, growing and blooming from waste at a local wastewater plant — bindweed trails and elm saplings growing from the grates and the drains of fertile machines. Inspired by these experiences, Theriault collected laundry lint from homes and public laundry mats. In aggregations reminiscent of geological formations, the laundry lint contains layers of information about textile and material life cycles, mimicking natural processes of erosion and deposition. Documenting these formations as archaeological objects of our present material culture, Erosion & Sediment is an interrogation into a present and future where microfibres are increasingly introduced into natural ecosystems across the globe via our laundry, sewage and water treatment systems.
THOUGHTS ON EROSION AND SEDIMENT ︎︎︎