THE ABANDONMENT PROJECT
This project was an attempt to find interesting new homes for 5000 ceramic teeth and claws. These objects were placed in a variety of locations to be discovered or stolen. I wanted people to enjoy finding them and question what they were and why they were there. The teeth and claws were part of an idea about making a natural history archive: and the place of fakes in the history of collections. Teeth and claws are objects which are loaded with meaning in human and animal history.
What are they made from? The teeth were made from native Victoria clay dug up near Thetis Lake. The claws are made from "Ice" one of the finest porcelain clays available. The teeth and claws are hand formed by the artist.
Why are there 5000 of them? Artists are, by nature, obsessive compulsive makers of things. We are also interested in questioning how ideas and processes work, and what meaning is assigned to them. For many years Fran Benton worked as a field biologist, collecting and recording material. This art project is the reverse of that process as she is creating material and assigning meaning to it."The Gift" is the final stage of Abandonment.
These are a few of the abandonments:
The aquatic abandonments
"These were locations that were adjacent to Ogden Point Breakwater, one of the most scenic locations in Victoria, and a mecca for SCUBA divers. I spent a lot of time diving off these huge quarry rocks and I knew how much cool stuff there was to see. I decided to add to the cool stuff. I bagged up a collection of iridescent pink and green molars in red mesh bags. I placed them in the water with the bull kelp. It was really interesting to watch the divers bring them up and discuss what they were."
Teeth were abandoned on the tideline of Sidney Spit Island north of Victoria. They were moved at intervals as the tide line shifted position. 35 dark green molars with gold root tips were used.
"A man and a woman were walking along the beach watching me. When they passed me they would kick them the molars out of the sand. What a weird thing to do. I walked after them and placed them back in the sand. "
Bathing suit for Abandoning Teeth
"I made a green bathing suit which was designed for the purpose of abandoning teeth. I could usually carry two or three slim teeth in each compartment. I swam out to a variety of locations, this one is Esquimalt Lagoon, and deposited in teeth. These teeth were pink and white porcelain incisors."
The stolen purses
A selection of teeth were loaded into small women's purses. They were placed in a variety of locations such as beside a fire hydrant, on a bus stop bench, outside storefronts. I watched and recorded who picked them up. Most of the purses were stolen by men. I was worried that they might be mistaken as bombs so I always stayed close by to claim the purse if it looked like it would cause problems. Inside the purse was a note which read :
I abandoned these teeth. Now they belong to you. Do with them as you wish. They are made of clay and are painted or glazed. I enjoyed making them. Perhaps you will enjoy owning them, perhaps not. Now they are your responsibility. Will you cherish them as objects made by an artist? Will you give them to someone else? Will you throw them in the garbage? It's your move. With regards, from the artist.
The store deposits
"This was an entertaining set of abandonments. I had hoped to puzzle and amuse store clerks. I was a little worried that I would just piss them off. My strategy was to buy something from a second hand store. I would duplicate the packaging of the item and add a tooth in the package. I would take the item back to the store and put it in the rack. I came back later and purchased the item.
In some of the store abandonments I infested the pockets of jeans with smooth small porcelain teeth. I chose only the jeans that would fit me and were black."
Abandoning teeth in department store jeans.
The Tooth Dress
"Each year our university college has a graduation ceremony. Everyone dresses up glam. I made a dress out of black corduroy and glued teeth all over it in patterns. The dress was about 35 pounds and a real exercise in stamina to wear. After the ceremony was complete I hung it nearby in a Garry Oak tree in a meadow in Langford. Langford municipality is hyper-prodevelopment and bulldozed this meadow into extinction. I watched the dress fall with the oak tree and get crushed."
Getting Political
"As mentioned before, I live in an awful place where there is no respect for trees and natural areas. Big box economy rules in Langford. I hate living here and will leave as soon as the housing prices drop. I moved here because there was a huge chunk of forest behind the property. It was zoned strata septic and was a glorious mix of arbutus, douglas fir, orchids, ferns etc. The deer roamed through it all the time. Naturally it was rezoned for development because of the attitude of the Langford city council. I became political and fought as hard as I could but nothing would change the attitude of these people. In despair at losing my favourite patch of forest I decided to change my approach and take on the attitude of artist developer. I pink slipped all the trees and put a claw in with each package as a token of my regard. In an unbelievable shift of luck the developer thought that it might be good neighbourhood relations to save a few patches of the forest. It isn't much but at least a few trees are still there. " Recent update - the developer came back and removed most of them to improve the selling value. Get me outta here!
Some teeth were so odd that they never were abandoned. These include the wool teeth and the wax teeth. Have a look at the wool teeth.