By Richard Turner

Chinese stone, cordless phone base, paint, 2017

This sculpture gently reminds us of our troubled relationship with planet Earth. The stone is from China. The base is a cradle for a cordless telephone. We extract millions of tons of minerals from the earth annually for the manufacture of the computers, mobile phones, television sets and other electronics. When these products become obsolete they are returned to the earth in the form of E-Waste, which often pollutes the earth and can be a significant health hazard for workers involved in processing the E-Waste. China is one of the main countries that process hazardous electronic waste. Joining this Chinese stone with a re-purposed cordless phone base calls our attention to both the problem and a partial solution.