Windsocks:
Disperse, DIlute, Escape /
Accumulate, Contain, Concentrate, 2021-2022
Over the past few summers, as wind has brought in heavy smoke from wildfires north and west of us, I have been reminded of how powerful the wind can be at both dispersal and concentration. These windsocks call attention to the wind that moves particulates, smoke, dust, pollen, seeds, insects, and more through our environment. The wind disperses what is here, while also depositing small artifacts from along its route.
In summer 2021, I displayed 3 kinetic windsock sculptures. The following year, in the summer of 2022, I expanded on this work by creating 27 larger windsocks displayed around Bdé Sihá Háŋska/Pickerel Lake in St. Paul as part of the 4Ground Land Art Biennial. These windsocks were on display from August to September, 2022. The lake is positioned adjacent to the Mississippi River, the site of my ongoing examination (see Hot Zone below).The windsocks include stories of nuclear capitalism’s impact on Indigenous people, including in MN, as well as imagery of local flora and fauna and reminders about the preciousness of the land/air/water to ourselves and the animals/plants living here with us. Hot Zone drawing workshops were conducted in conjunction with the installations both summers.
These windsocks is part of a larger body of sculptures, participatory events, and other investigations entitled Hot Zone.
HotZone is an ongoing exploration of the 100-mile area between the two nuclear power plants in Mni Sota Makoce, so-called Minnesota. They are located along the Hahawakpa / Gichi Ziibi / Mississippi River in Monticello and on the Prairie Island Indian Community's land. These power plants store all of their nuclear waste on-site in cooling pools and temporary steel/concrete "dry cask storage." There are currently no available locations or plans in the US for long-term radioactive waste disposal.
Throughout their 50+ years of operation, both power plants have had minor dispersals of radioactive material into the surrounding environment. The possibility for future contamination and potential for devastation remains and will persist, even decades after their closures, currently slated for 2040.
Surrounding each nuclear plant are 2 zones that detail how to respond in the event of a radiation release: the 10 mile radius "Emergency Planning Zone" and the 50 mile "Ingestion Pathway Zone." If you look at the Chernobyl and Fukushima-Daiichi exclusion zones, the elements have transported the radiation far beyond the initial 10 and 20 km exclusion zones, respectively. To explore this further, I began creating these windsocks as a visual reminder of the power of the wind.
See more at hotzone.kelleymeister.com.
In summer 2021, I displayed 3 kinetic windsock sculptures. The following year, in the summer of 2022, I expanded on this work by creating 27 larger windsocks displayed around Bdé Sihá Háŋska/Pickerel Lake in St. Paul as part of the 4Ground Land Art Biennial. These windsocks were on display from August to September, 2022. The lake is positioned adjacent to the Mississippi River, the site of my ongoing examination (see Hot Zone below).The windsocks include stories of nuclear capitalism’s impact on Indigenous people, including in MN, as well as imagery of local flora and fauna and reminders about the preciousness of the land/air/water to ourselves and the animals/plants living here with us. Hot Zone drawing workshops were conducted in conjunction with the installations both summers.
These windsocks is part of a larger body of sculptures, participatory events, and other investigations entitled Hot Zone.
HotZone is an ongoing exploration of the 100-mile area between the two nuclear power plants in Mni Sota Makoce, so-called Minnesota. They are located along the Hahawakpa / Gichi Ziibi / Mississippi River in Monticello and on the Prairie Island Indian Community's land. These power plants store all of their nuclear waste on-site in cooling pools and temporary steel/concrete "dry cask storage." There are currently no available locations or plans in the US for long-term radioactive waste disposal.
Throughout their 50+ years of operation, both power plants have had minor dispersals of radioactive material into the surrounding environment. The possibility for future contamination and potential for devastation remains and will persist, even decades after their closures, currently slated for 2040.
Surrounding each nuclear plant are 2 zones that detail how to respond in the event of a radiation release: the 10 mile radius "Emergency Planning Zone" and the 50 mile "Ingestion Pathway Zone." If you look at the Chernobyl and Fukushima-Daiichi exclusion zones, the elements have transported the radiation far beyond the initial 10 and 20 km exclusion zones, respectively. To explore this further, I began creating these windsocks as a visual reminder of the power of the wind.
See more at hotzone.kelleymeister.com.