A wearable edible garden, a COVID-19 project
Land Acknowledgment: This project and my studio are situated on the traditional territory of the Attawandaron (Neutral), Anishinaabeg, and Haudenosaunee peoples, on land that is part of the Haldimand Tract granted to the Six Nations in 1784 that includes 10 kilometres on each side of the full length of the Grand River.
In SUSTAIN, I explore the connections between ourselves, the food we grow and consume, and the land, as well as those between maker, materials, making, and objects in the context of sustainability. I call into question the usual use of suburban spaces (this relatively small garden has provided all the vegetables for a small family for about 4 months). I also re-consider the complex relationship of maker and material. In the Anthropocene, the use of materials – any materials – is fraught with ethical questions. While exposing me to new materials, this project – pursued in a summer of drought – has made me think hard about water consumption.
The work is informed by the longstanding focus of art jewellery on the relationship between jewellery and the human body. It is a bodily undertaking: building beds and borders, digging, planting, and sustained caring (especially watering) for plants, collaborating with nature, making ephemeral artworks, then meals, and consuming them. This is art jewellery by and for the body. It is also art jewellery by and for the human spirit.
