Parched Limbs

Parched Limbs 2018
Installation | Drinking straws, Diet Coke, dark rum, cola scent | Slade School of Art, London

Parched Limbs explores resource depletion through a cerebral creature caught between survival and collapse. Climbing tendrils and adolescent vines of black and transparent machined straws cling onto pipes and cross in confused directions; escaping ends leak plastic calories and an odour of flat fizz. Diet Coke and dark rum highlight bodily regulation and colonial histories, while scattered straws prompt a choreography of careful navigation. Periodically nourished with drinks, the sculpture demands ongoing care. Addressing ecological anxieties, the creation ran parallel to the introduction of the UK ban on plastic straws, later issued in 2020.

Photo: Katarzyna Perlak