WASTELANDS by Tagny Duff

2018

As a key collaborator on Wastelands by Tagny Duff, WhiteFeather developed the biomaterial component central to the project’s infrastructure and aesthetic.

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In collaboration (mentorship) with Queen’s University art conservation student Courtney Books, she co-invented a novel bioplastic that formed the basis for the carrier systems used within the work. The bioplastic and its preservation treatment were subsequently published in Living Matter: The Preservation of Biological Materials in Contemporary Art by the Getty Conservation Institute, establishing the material within international conservation and bioart discourse. Read the chapter here: https://www.getty.edu/publications/living-matter/snapshots/05/

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WhiteFeather then independently produced the biomaterial and developed the first SCOBY-based rope as a structural material, enabling the translation of Duff’s bag designs into functional carrier bags used to house the biogas generators. This innovation was integral to both the functional operation and articulation of the project.

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Wastelands was first exhibited at the Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum in 2018. The project received an Honourable Mention at Ars Electronica in 2019 and was nominated for the S+T+ARTS Prize: https://ars.electronica.art/starts-prize/en/wastelands/

WhiteFeather’s contributions significantly shaped the project’s material language, functionality, and conceptual framework. The production of the work was hosted in part by the Milieux Institute for Arts, Culture and Technology at Concordia University.