The London Globe printed a new word, "Smog," coined in a speech at the 1905 Public Health Congress. They considered it a public service to describe this phenomenon. Eighty-eight years later we posess, yet avoid using, the technology to correct 95% of the polution legacy.
The Smog Collectors materialize the reality of the air we breath. They achieve thier potency most effectively when the image contradicts thier substance. Thus, my process ia a private retaliation brought to public attention.
I place stencil images on transparent or opaque materials, then leave these on the roof of my studio and let the particulate matter in the heavy air fall upon them. When the stencil is removed, the images reveal themselve. To quote a stranger, they are "footprints of the sky." Since the worst in the air can't be seen, Smog Collectors are both literal and metaphoric depictions of the current conditions of our life source. They are reminders of our industrial decisions: the road we took that seemed so modern.
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Give Us This Day (20 Days of Smog) 1993 Our homes make us feel safe, protected from the polluted air. The installations present the smog images in the context of domestic settings. Here, the dinner-image on the tablecloth was created when the acid in the air darkened the silk.
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Presidential Commemorative Smog Plates 1991 Portraits of U.S. Presidents from McKinley to Bush, created from smog with their historical quotes about the environment and business.
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Smog
Translations 1994 & 2000 The Smog Translations are rendered the exact scale of the original, idealized representations of the American landscape. The gilded frames become a textured assemblage of industrial detritus.
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Smog Mask (Thirty Days of Smog) 1991 Edition of 20
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Currency in Smog (30 Days of Smog) 1992 Edition of 4
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Zoë's Highchair (Forty Days of Smog) 1991
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