Artifact of Collapse
Half-carbonized slab of white ash wood
23” x 15” x 4”
2026
Images courtesy of Ann Street Gallery, Newburgh, NY.
Artifact of Collapse is a segment of a white ash tree killed by emerald ash borer (EAB). Half of the remnant wood was carbonized in a charcoal retort. This process reduces the wood of the tree to its sequestered carbon, making it archival.
The form and grain of this ash tree are preserved along with the evidence of its demise: the winding galleries visible across the cambium layer.
