Crude Futures

Twenty-five years ago, in the shadow of the September 11 attacks, I searched for a way to confront the deeper forces fueling global conflict.

I turned to the very substance that was a catalyst in those struggles: oil. With a bowling ball as my brush, I rolled long lines across thick paper with used motor oil, setting the “landscapes” in motion. Over the decades, the contaminants in the motor oil slowly seeped outwards, its unpredictable spread mirroring the drifting, uncontrollable nature of an oil spill. Time became an important collaborator in the piece, shaping its quiet but constant transformation.

Now, after two decades, the oil has left an indelible stain—much like the omnipresent residues of oil spills that continue to haunt the environment.

Despite the rise of renewable energy over these same years, the politics surrounding oil remain largely unchanged. The work stands as a reflection on that persistence: a grim reminder that the world, and its financial markets still grapple with the long shadow of oil dependency, its consequences rippling through our present day wars.