Reclaiming the Invisible (2023 redux)
[Limited edition of 25: each with zine instruction set and sunflower seeds in a handmade seed pouch (organic cotton hand-dyed with marigold and safflower)

After the first iteration (2019) was somewhat stalled by the COVID-19 pandemic, this zine & participatory project was remade in the spring of 2023 and shared across Edmonton.

Reclaiming the Invisible considers waste that is primarily invisible to us, waste that is entrenched in the soil and unidentifiable to the naked eye: contaminates offset from industry and methods of extraction. That we have built our waste management sites outside of daily view is by design and this participatory event wonders how it is that we might see waste differently, and how our relationship to waste might shift if we had some way to see it anew.

Starting with seeds from the seeds are meant to disperse seed-saving project (2015, ongoing), Reclaiming the Invisible considers how hyperaccumulators—plants that have the ability to take up more metals than normal—are utilized in phytoremediation projects to help rid toxins from the earth. Interested in how it is that together we might think through issues of invisible waste, Reclaiming the invisible looks to how plants might help guide us in this effort.