Found objects / rocks / wood / shells / etc – Installation
Collection, gathering, multiples, land, extraction, mental health, failure
July 2022

Why do I have a tendency towards extraction and how can I reflect on that?

Wherever I go, I find things on the ground. Abandoned things, broken things, simple things, small things. (Small is relative. Simple is relative. Nothing is small. Nothing is simple.) I notice them. I pick them up. I take them with me. How is this ethical? How is this not ethical? Am I an animal who moves objects from one place to another, harmlessly, sometimes even helpfully? Am I a product of a colonial capitalist society focused on material gain, the concept of ownership, and the greed of keeping something for myself? Should I ask a crow what they think? Should I confer with a raven? Who gave me permission to take them? Who gave the raven permission? Who gave Irving Oil permission? Who gave the Government of Canada permission? Does scale matter when it comes to ethics? Do small actions lead to large actions? Does a small scale extraction give permission for large scale extraction?  Who will miss the stones on the beach? If everyone took them, there would be no stones. Who am I to say I am worthy of taking them?