The Haruspex, 2013-2017
96in. x 32in. x 24in.
Stolen traffic cone, brass screws, maple, co2 cartridge from starbucks, drywall screws, magic sculpt, magic smooth, zip ties, garden hose, bicycle break cable, salvaged electrical wire, vinyl tubing, used weed trimming cable, masonry line, ribbed hose, acrylic tube, acrylic rod, acrylic sheet, epoxy resin, national grid barricade, driftwood, steel, aluminum, mop handle, broom handle, expandable urethane, ball chain, eye hook, plastic beads, fiberglass driveway markers, car antenna, stainless screws & nuts, branch, thrift store plastic bin, sculptamold, plywood, dowels, mixing sticks, antique flooring nail, enamel paint, retail display hooks, sea Styrofoam, paracord, window screening, costume jewelry, pinecones, toothpicks, toothbrush, broken drumsticks, clock hands, cement, sheathing, security fasteners taken from NYC metro subway, ratchet strap, ¼ in. audio cable, ¼ in. audio jack, gaffer’s tape, lab bolts, laminate, fake grapes, fake mango, fake bread, fake lemons, fake limes, fake cherries, limited edition 7-Eleven metal Slurpee™ straws.
Note: The piece consists of the body of a wandering albatross made from material gathered from the wreckage of historic flooding on Lake Champlain, due to shifting weather patterns from climate change. Throughout the production of the work, I taught myself the practice of Haruspicy - a method of divining the future through reading bird livers, practiced in ancient Mediterranean cultures. Upon completing the body of the bird and organs, I constructed a liver and kidneys from plastic material scavenged from the Atlantic ocean, dissected it, and read it for information about the future of the climate, according to haruspex practices. The results can be seen in accompanying animations.