Human Sprawl

Site-Specific Installation + Glass Sculpture
Reclaimed window, bottle and stained glass; kiln-cast and kiln-formed glass; dichroic film; mixed media
Leighton Art Centre, Alberta
Installed for one year

Human Sprawl was a site-specific installation exploring the interconnected impact of human activity on threatened species and ecosystems. Created primarily from reclaimed glass, the work brought together life-size animal sculptures, plant forms, light and educational programming within the landscape of Leighton Art Centre.

The installation centred on species classified as threatened or endangered in Canada. Life-size whooping cranes represented air, swift foxes represented land and bull trout represented water, while sculptural interpretations of whitebark pine and Soapweed expanded the work to include plant and insect life. Together, the species formed an interconnected ecosystem rather than a collection of individual environmental stories.

Material was integral to the work. The animals were created from thick kiln-cast slabs of broken office window glass diverted from landfill. A large suspended Soapweed sculpture transformed more than 300 discarded liquor bottles into over 2,000 individually cut and kiln-formed glass components, while the whitebark pine sculptures incorporated fragments of window, bottle and stained glass.

Installed among the surrounding plant life, the transparent and reflective sculptures continually shifted with changes in daylight and weather. Dichroic film applied to the windows cast changing colour throughout the space, introducing beauty and optimism into a project concerned with environmental loss.

The year-long installation extended beyond the objects themselves through educational panels, artist talks, summer camp programming and integration into Leighton Art Centre's school tours. Human Sprawl became both an artwork and a platform for environmental learning, using material transformation and visual experience to encourage greater awareness of the ecosystems we are part of.

Photographic Studies

Alongside the installation, I photographed the glass animal sculptures within natural environments. Removed from the gallery context and placed within landscapes associated with their living counterparts, the transparent forms became simultaneously present and absent. The photographs extended the project's exploration of disappearance, fragility and our relationship to threatened species.