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River Laundry, Bottle Tree
River Laundry, Bottle Tree
17 ft tall x 16 ft long
1998

Only materials dredged from the river during a clean-up could be used for this sculpture. I found a number of nasty garments, many old bottles, and a strong sapling, so I combined them in a hymn to my childhood.

When I was a girl, bottle trees were used to store canning jars. They also kept wandering spirits from entering the house. Attracted by the glittering glass, the spirits
paused in admiration and became trapped inside the bottles. That was the story.
As for the laundry, it so dominated our lives, I'm still not over it.

There was considerable interaction between this work and the public, resulting in all the antique bottles being pilfered. I had to wade into the river again and again to keep the bottle tree alive until the show ended.