Mixed-media gallery installation
Dimensions: N/A
Materials: 800 fresh oranges, 400 used needles, nails, paint, cardboard
Completed: 2020
Given the alarming frequency of overdoses in Vancouver, safety and prevention training have become critically important within the local community. Various community groups, local charities, and medical clinics offer free training seminars on how to administer Naloxone, a fast-acting drug that temporarily reverses the effects of an opioid overdose. Since Naloxone is administered through intravenous injection, participants must receive training on the safe use of needles. In this context, oranges are often used by medical professionals as a training device to simulate the act of puncturing an organic, foreign body with the tip of a needle.
For this project, I collected 400 used needles from the streets and back alleys of east Vancouver. Once gathered, I brought them to my studio, where I cleaned, sterilized, and dried each needle to ensure they were safe for handling. The used needles were then inserted into 400 fresh oranges (out of 800). These oranges were cast across the gallery floor in a flowing, meandering pattern, resembling a river that culminated at the base of a wall. At the wall's base, hundreds of additional oranges were attached in the shape of a rising/setting sun, creating a striking visual focal point.