Tourniquet Tree Rings
2021-2022
Examples from a project consisting of 80 Tree Rings, each approximately 6” in diameter x 1” high and coiled from expired petrochemical-derived tourniquets that would otherwise have been discarded.
The Tourniquet Tree Rings are one of several series exploring the interconnections of life-sustaining circulatory systems that are both internal and external to the human body—from lungs and arteries to forests and watersheds. I employ textile strategies to transform expired medical materials into sculptures that reference landscapes. I interweave petrochemical- and plant-derived materials, data, and landscape imagery to draw connections between climate crisis, fossil fuel extraction, and the buildup of harmful plastics in our bodies and ecosystems. In the context of worsening intertwined health and climate crises, these tree rings are reflections on accumulations: of time, grief, waste, toxicants, and diseases.
