Gold Rush

Working with core samples extracted from a mine on unceded Passamaquoddy land in Maine, Stephanie Garon explores notions of labor, permanence, and land claim. Hamiltonian Artists is located closest to the Potomac River and Anacostia River corridors, which contain historical sites of gold mining, panning, and prospecting.

Through sculpture, installation, video, sound, and photography, Garon reflects on our relationship to the land. The exhibition includes an interactive component that invites viewers to use a metal detector mobile app to detect the gold, silver, and copper components in the core samples, as precious metal spot prices scroll across an LED sign overhead. Also on view is a video that features interviews with activist and art critic Lucy Lippard and Sipayik Museum director and curator Dwayne Tomah, who explore the overlaps between cultural history and geological damage. Garon’s large-scale drawings and crushed-core-sample paintings incorporate DC tap water and chemicals used in mining, situating the work locally.

Artist

Stephanie Garon earned her MFA in Studio Art from the Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, MD (2022), and MHA and BS from Cornell University, Ithaca, NY (1996, 1994).