In 2014, Guelph artist Christina Kingsbury created a 1000 square foot quilt for the decommissioned Eastview landfill site, in Guelph, Ontario, from handmade paper and seeds. Kingsbury collected the seeds of pollinating plants by hand and embedded the seeds in the paper that she made by hand. The quilt was meant to cover the compromised earth of the landfill and mingle with the elements to eventually create a “pollination zone" designed to attract pollinating insects back to the area. The artists invited the public to the landfill site to work on the quilt with her in a “participatory performance".
The labour involved in making the quilt references the salvage economy, the undervalued position of labour traditionally undertaken by women as well as the often under appreciated and unnoticed labour performed by bees. Kingsbury also collaborated with writer, Anna Bowen to collect stories from the public celebrating their connection the land that hosts the Eastview Landfill. There were a series of public talks and walking tours connected to this project. [1]
References:
[1] “ReMediate.” Christina Kingsbury. Accessed July 7, 2021. http://www.christinakingsbury.com/remediate.
Additional information:
“Kingsbury & Bowen: ReMediate.” Art Gallery of Guelph. Accessed July 7, 2021. https://artgalleryofguelph.ca/exhibitions-detail/remediate/.
Kingsbury, Christina, and Anna Bowen. ReMediate. Guelph: Publication Studio Guelph, 2015.
ReMediate. Vimeo, 2021. https://vimeo.com/207950801.
