Eve Andrée Laramée, Breathing into Each Other's Lungs
Eve Andrée Laramée
born 1956 Los Angeles, California; lives Brooklyn, New York and Santa Fe, New Mexico
Breathing into Each Other's Lungs
1994
handblown glass, steel, rubber
35 x 14 x 11 in.
lent by the artist, © 2020 Eve Andrée Laramée
photo courtesy of the artist
This sculpture is a visceral metaphor for a life support system. On two occasions Eve Laramee toured through the Jackpile uranium mine with Curtis Francisco, a geologist from Laguna Pueblo. According to Laramee, “ I was shocked by the sheer scale of the operation, in relation to the village of Paguate. I met several retired miners who worked without any lung or ear protection.” When explosives were detonated to extract uranium ore, miners would crouch behind their pick-up trucks and were covered with radioactive dust. Women in the village would rush to take their laundry off the line before the blasts so the dust would not settle on their clothing and bedding.