Embodied Emissions
Iron oak gall ink, ink made from sheetrock on paper made from sugarcane combined with shredded disposable plastic waste (“plasticane”)
61” x 92”
2020
This drawing contrasts the form of an oak tree growing just outside of the Denka chemical plant in Laplace, Louisiana, which is mirrored below the tree. The imagery blends together in the middle of the composition as the pipes intermingle with the roots and branches of the tree reflecting how the environment is being affected by the carcinogenic emissions of this refinery. According to the EPA’s National Air Toxics Assessment published in 2015, residents near Denka’s plant were determined to have the highest risk of air pollution-caused cancer in the country, nearly 50 times the national average. On paper combining plastic with sugarcane, with ink made from oak galls and shells, this drawing examines how the legacies of exploitation of people and landscape from the time of colonization and plantations extends into our current petrochemical age.