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| Copyright ©2009 Linda Gass. Photograph by Don Tuttle |
| Title: Sanitary? |
| Dimensions: 30" w x 30" h |
| Artist Statement: Sanitary? is an aerial view of Newby Island Sanitary Landfill in Milpitas, one of several landfills right on the San Francisco Bay. With the exception of the Coyote Hills near Newark, all of the hills around the bay are current or former garbage dumps. I am still researching why they were sited right on the edge of the bay but I believe it dates back to the 1800s when we saw those muddy mucky wetlands as wastelands rather than as beneficial marshlands. Newby Island is a 342-acre pile that is estimated to be 14 years away from reaching its maximum permitted height of 120 feet. The facility processes 4,000 tons of garbage each day. According to the company website, the landfill is an island surrounded by a levee which keeps its runoff from directly entering the bay, and the water that drains from it is treated in the dump's own treatment plant. The landfill has a composite clay layer beneath it and that in combination with a synthetic liner and an underdrain system keeps contaminants from leaching into the groundwater. These many layers of mitigation are susceptible to failure and underscore the vulnerability of the bay and ground water to contamination. We really need to be finding ways to not have to put anything in a landfill and to reuse everything we “throw away” because really, there is no “away.” It’s being thrown into the bay and ultimately into our water system. |
| Materials and Techniques: Silk crepe de chine hand painted using remezol dyes and water soluble resist. Silk broadcloth backing and polyester batting; machine quilted with rayon and polyester embroidery thread. |
| Detail: Click here for a detail image of the quilt |
| Exhibition History: October 8 - November 22, 2009 in Still Water, Dalton Gallery, Agnes Scott College, Atlanta, GA. June 20 - August 16, 2009 in Seeing Green: Visions of a Changing Planet, Visions Art Quiilt Gallery, San Diego, CA |
| Additional Info: This artwork appeared with an article about the artist in the April 2010 issue of Art Calendar. It was also featured in the 2009 Sustainability Report published by CH2M Hill.
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| Status: Available for sale. |
