Branch joinery system
(2023)
from the Conflict Avocados project 2023
- Medium
- Oak (Quercus sp), Maple (Acer sp.), (found items)
- Measurements
- (a-ll) 91.5 × 527.5 × 70.5 cm (installation)
- Place/s of Execution
- London, England
- Department
- Contemporary Art
- Credit Line
- Commissioned by the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne. Purchased with funds donated by The Andrew & Geraldine Buxton Foundation, 2024
© Fernando Laposse - Gallery location
- Not on display
- About this work
-
Branch joinery system is a sustainable modular shelving system made only from pruned branches, avoiding the need to fell any trees for its production. The shelf is used to display objects that reflect the disconnect between perceptions that surround avocados in the United States, and the reality of the fruit’s production in Mexico.
On one shelf a chainsaw, pistol and charred heeled shoe reference the deforestation and violence driven by unregulated cartel-controlled avocado farming, while a segment of tree trunk and a collection of Monarch butterflies – the endangered insects that rely on the forests for their survival – are symbolic of widespread ecological damage. In contrast, the adjacent shelf reflects the commercialisation of avocados in the United States. An American football helmet references the mass consumption of avocados during the Super Bowl, while other objects offer a commentary on the marketing and adoption of the avocado as a symbol of health and wealth.