Infestation/Deterioration Recent work by Tara Ivins and Lisa Murch
November 1 - December 13, 2008
| Flying ants eat concrete and bore their way into buildings quietly destroying the structure days before you even see the tiny creatures in your home. It starts with one buzzing around harmlessly, then, hours later there seem to be hundreds making their way about your home. Standing on the sidewalk staring at what must have been the most beautiful building around. Decorative cornices, large windows, and that something that words just can’t describe. Now, bricks are now crumbling, windows are boarded, and its history is left to your imagination. Near the basement windows, the wood and concrete have cracked broken and neglected. Have you seen the Empress Trees? So harmless, a little plant finding its way through the cement patio at basement window wells. Green, the city needs more green. So, you let it live and don’t pull it out. After all, it had to make it through great odds to grow. Months later, the little green patio weed is now a sizable tree. Yes, a tree. No longer a little green sprig, but a monstrosity that will not die and requires a chainsaw to remove. And, this is not all, it has pressed into the foundation wall. Damn! Another crack, damaging the precious foundation. Rats and roaches. Do they exist in city homes because we are there invading their space or are they invading ours? Does it show a lack of care for your surroundings if you see one? They say if you see one there are hundreds more that you don’t see. Rats and mice eat walls. Roaches are known to eat babies eyelashes. If you see one and there are hundreds you don’t see do you assume that you have an infestation. And are you and your living space deteriorating because of their very existence. |
Lisa Murch. Bridge (detail).
Tara Ivins. Street. |
