ELIZABETH ALEXANDER

When I started working on this piece, the part of the South where I live was either on fire or underwater from various extreme weather events.  Debris from these storms was collected to commingle with domestic objects in the form of hollow cast paper replicas. One half of the objects have a coating of locta paper that looked to me like a charred or rotten surface. The rest were encrusted in a skin of wallpaper flowers, as if I were bedazzling this debris. Cutouts between the print expose glimpses of the black interior through pattern upon close inspection, showing that all elements are made of the same stuff.  A visual metaphor for the contrast between climate anxiety and those who benefit from glossing over the urgent action called for in this moment.