GROWTH

Titanium, steel, sediment, resin.

Overall - The sculpture depicts abandoned urban architecture due to flooding caused by sea level rise.

Base - Made of titanium, which is found abundantly throughout nature, in almost all living things, bodies of water, rocks, and soils, but only as an oxide. It is made into a metal by the Kroll process which is extremely toxic and energy intense. In this way, the concept of the sculpture is supported by the combination of common elements and intense human activity. Around the outside of the top and bottom circular pieces are seven small points representing the concept of The Seven Generations, an ancient lesson from Native American culture that says “An individual’s choices have the potential to impact their descendants for generations, and, likewise, an individual is affected by choices made by their ancestors.” - quoted from The Seven Generations and The Seven Grandfather Teachings by James Vukelich Kaagegaabaw.

Pillars - Made of rusted solid steel, the most ubiquitous material of the industrial age. A staggering amount of our civilization is built from steel, yet when left to the weather, will eventually rust away and be buried.

Water(Resin) - At the base of the pillars is sediment from a river bed with resin poured over top, tinted a dark gray/green and rippled.

Inspiration - Images of Chernobyl taken 30 years after the disaster have long been eerily beautiful to me. Despite the uninhabitable toxic wasteland left behind, in the absence of people, nature immediately returns in force. Encroaching from the outside, growing among the straight lines of the steel and concrete skeletons left behind by human civilization, slowly returning the city to rubble. This sculpture can be seen as a futuristic post-apocalyptic doom scene, or a beautiful, early stage in the slow comeback of nature.

The title, “Growth”, imagines abandoned cities around the world appearing as crystal-like formations growing on the planet’s surface. Or the rapid growth of human activity leading to its demise. Or the growth mindset in business and consumerism (more = better) leading to over-production, over-consumption, and exploitation of people and the natural world.