what are they chanting?..."drill baby drill"

Two days after the term Drill Baby Drill was coined at the RNC by Republican Michael Steele. Two of my pieces considering oil were shown at the David Weinberg Gallery on September 5, 2008. I can't tell you how disturbed I was listening to all of those people chanting together on Wednesday night... frightening.



The exhibition could not be at a more opportune moment when we have Mrs. Palin a native of Alaska rejecting science and global warming issues. Her support of drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is just the tip of the iceberg! (couldn't resist the pun, sorry)

In the exhibition "Who gets what: a political show" curated by the fabulous Aaron Ott at David Weinberg hangs two of my pieces: hole (fall, winter, spring, summer) and petroleum. I have been photographing constructed pools of oil for the past two years. By looking at oil and making it visible I am questioning its many implications.



The hole images are odd with the stark black hole, its presence and location unidentifiable. The images address the paradox of oil being "natural" and our obsession with it everything but. The inclusion of the seasons reference geologic time and the environmental consequences of our obsession.


The 9 panel grid of oil titled petroleum is seductive with the oily iridescence and high gloss images of this exorbitant and elusive natural resource. The sexy surface subverts our logical understanding about oil and politics being closely entwined.

I hope the intended irony is not lost on the collective... "drill baby drill"...really?!