Impure

2017

34 x 30”

This piece is constructed from indigo dyed cotton. The quilt is not only hand quilted with white and pale blue cotton thread, but also hand pieced together without a sewing machine. The hand embroidered words relate to various water concerns revolving around pollution and privatization. The labor intensive choices to dye, hand sew, and embroider the work let me ponder and reflect on the many ways we are not taking care of our resources; taking the most basic of those, water, for granted.

The text contains a geographic location and words that relate to a specific water based issue. It is my hope that the viewer’s curiosity will be piqued by the words, and they will further look into the issues for themselves. I have not included the Flint, Michigan water crisis or the California and Colorado River water rights issues yet; it is my plan to continue adding to the quilt over time. Depicted in text on this work are two global issues and one that hits a little closer to home here in Alabama. The Cochabama Water War in Bolivia saw a seventeen year old protester, Victor Hugo Daza, killed by the Bolivian government. This event was the focus of previous artwork of mine a few years ago. The second event is the pollution of a river in Sri Lanka, which is the main water source for the capital and surrounding area, by the Coca-Cola Company. Some of the chemicals listed are used in creating the caramel color for the drink. I have a personal connection to the Sri Lankan water pollution issue, because my maternal family lives with the consequences. The closer to home issue for most of my audience is the pollution of the Tennessee River near Decatur, Alabama, which is currently (2017) under legal litigation.