Midden, 2016

Gianna Stewart

  • Midden: A pile of refuse, chiefly containing shells

    When The Big Dig was underway in Boston, several midden were unearthed. The ancient trash heaps revealed much about those who roamed these sites before us. Often the shells grew larger towards the bottom of the piles, artifacts from before oysters were harvested as abundantly. Left alone, an oyster never stops growing.

    These dozen oysters of mythical proportions beg the question- what will we leave behind?

    Oysters are the water’s natural filters. Here, Midden rests below the air intake shaft for the I-93 tunnel below, pulsing colored light, as if breathing, as the wave of night passes over them.

    Materials: casted clear urethane resin, painted steel, solar LED lighting