Speculative Bison Futures

In this piece, beads in circular clusters stand in for bison bodies as they exist now, controlled, and corralled through ranching and conservation efforts. In contrast, needle felted wool represents potential bison bodies reintroduced by Indigenous signatories to the Bison Treaty, which envisions free-ranging bison rematriated to their ancestral territories. The temporality embodied in Speculative Bison Futures straddles the current moment and a potential future that is both promising and terrifying. I have intentionally colonized this piece made primarily with wool, by introducing clothing moths, representing climate change's disruptive and destructive agency in all possible futures.

 Speculative Bison Futures, 2019 - ongoing

Wool felt (organic unprocessed and recycled), raw wool, dyed merino wool roving, beads, embroidery thread, wood, screws, plexiglass, plastic sheets, tape, yeast dissolved in water, time, 78x60 inches

Contributors: Moths & moth larvae, Matt Truman, and Kate Carder

 

Tineola bisselliella (clothing moth) – documentation of life processes from Speculative Bison Futures, 2021

Deceased moth, scanner, ink-jet print, 16 x 20 inches