Pond Folk
In May of 2020, I collected 2 gallons of water, rocks, and sludge from the duck pond on Little Mountain in Vancouver, the unceded territory of the xʷməθkwəyəm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), ̓and Səlílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. I observed and recorded the plant and animal life that emerged from this one pond sample over the course of a year. During that time, I added a 3D printed building, a clear plastic orb, concrete blocks, plastic drinking straws, microscope slides, a bit of stained glass, and a ping pong ball. I used these objects and a daily documentation practice to think about the climate crisis and ecosystems, but also as an experiment with scale and time relative to human perception. On another level, this project was an opportunity to improvise in real-time with macroscopic organisms, and perhaps a way to find movement in a world on pause.
I created a compilation called Pond Sample for kindergarten break time, which has also served as an accidental teaser and an introduction to the archive…