Organic linen and raw silk naturally dyed with indigo, madder, anatto, cochineal, rabbit brush, Pleurotus ostreatus

(dimensions variable)

Para la Madre was made for Los Ranchos de Guapamacátaro in Michoacán, Mexico in collaboration with Pleurotus ostreatus. This remediation pillow was installed in a small stream that showed high nitrate concentrations and contained E. coli and viral diseases. Food harvested near the stream produced a viral infection that effected the entire community. The remediation pillow, installed on a floating raft in the stream, acts as a water filter. P. ostreatus mycelium has been highly studied for the sequestration of nitrates, and E. coli. The imagery on the pillow pays honors to maize depicting a tall and healthy stalk and a root system covered in embroidered, mycorrhizal fungi. This piece is a prayer, asking for healthy crops through healthy water and soil. It was dedicated to the community, and to the earth mother. Together in a community performance, this piece was carried to the stream and installed.