Without Care

Without Care merges craft traditions of papermaking, quilting, and beadwork with the industrial ecology of Superfund sites in the Salt Lake region. Through a series of site visits, the artist walks, observes, and gathers plant materials from these contaminated landscapes, processing them into handmade papers to piece into symbolic quilt forms. Without Care meditates on the current ecological state of Superfund sites where minerals featured in the U.S. Geological Survey 2025 List of Critical Minerals have been extracted or processed. This federal list outlines minerals deemed vital for the U.S. economy and national security. With a focus on the Bingham Canyon Copper Mine and US Magnesium, this body of work sheds light on how efforts toward national security take shape on the land.

“Without Care,” a translation of the Latin root of “security,” teases apart the multiple meanings of security in the context of land use. As this list slates minerals for potential future extraction, Without Care examines a living archive of mineral operations in the Salt Lake region. Quilts and beadwork––symbolic of traditionally feminine labor––center stewardship of both land and culture while posing an alternative to the domination mindset evidenced by extractive industry. By examining sites that have been treated with neglect, Without Care considers how we move forward in a damaged world, drawing implications for both the conservation of landscapes currently protected and the reckoning with places, communities, and knowledges broken.