Consumed, (2017); Beluga intestine, thread, found objects; Dimensions variable
Consumed addresses the immense volume of “things” we manage to gather around us in life, questioning the inscribed social values they bring with them and their cumulative impact on us. Gruben has stitched a wide array of items into translucent, papery segments of beluga whale intestine, which she dried herself according to a traditional process that has now fallen into disuse. The collected selection includes elastic bands, ear phones, a rosary, a condom, a cut-up credit card, matches… a disparate grouping that touches on how thoroughly multiple dimensions of our life are seeded with largely prefabricated objects. This, of course, has profound implications for our planet and ourselves; through food chains laced with industrial chemicals and microplastics, we do genuinely consume toxic byproducts from our massive scale of production. The presence of religious paraphernalia in this collection emphasizes that our objects are not ideologically passive either—the things we physically interact with affect us, psychologically and emotionally. Further to this, Consumed questions perceived mind-body divisions regarding how we process our world and our emotions, as all of the objects it comprises are—literally—held in guts.