Superkelp
Kelp is proof that homes can die like people do. What once sheltered fish, fed aquatic mammals and humans, was cherished for its unbroken connection to ancestors of every variety, has vanished from seas all over the world.
The practice of kelp farming, kept alive through indigenous practices of cultivation and millenia of respectful relations, is now exploited for profit by white growers.
But this healing plant will not be lost. You are witnessing a reminder of kelp’s power, and the power of all things that grow. You are witnessing kelp wisdom, superkelp, kelp as it once was and as it will be once more.
By taking part in the kelp experience, we resist the trolling hand of capitalism, affirming our participation in the future, rooting down deep, and providing for communities as large and complex as the ocean.
This project is a collaboration with artist Sandie Yi. It was mailed out to 200 participants with this statement:
“This is a six foot-long kelp, here to help, produced by crip hands during the pandemic. You can use it to measure social distance. You can wrap it around your body. You can dance with it and sing to it. You can turn it into a bracelet, a necklace, a crown, or a sling, or cut the kelp into shapes that make you feel home.”
Take pictures of yourself with your kelp, and post to social media with the hashtags #SinsInvalid, #KelpHelp, #CripCouture, and #2GreatFingers!
Sandie Yi is an assistant professor in the department of art therapy and counseling and the program director of Disability Culture Activism Lab (DCAL) at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC). She has a MA in art therapy from SAIC, and MFA from the University of California Berkeley. She is a disabled artist and disability culture worker whose work focuses on wearable art made for and with self-identified disabled people. As a part of the Disability Art Movement, Yi’s art, Crip Couture explores the issue of intimacy, desire and sexuality of the disabled bodymind. The wearable art objects and their wearers call for a recognition of disability as an aesthetic choice and suggest the possibility for a new genre of wearable art, Disability Fashion.
The Kelp Help project is part of the Disability Futures Virtual Festival, a dynamic convening of disabled creative practitioners, taking place July 19 & 20, 2021. This includes a conversation about Disability & Climate Justice with Patty Berne, along with Crosby and Ellen Choy from Movement Generation, at 2 pm PT on July 19. Register at disabilityfutures.splashthat.com.
Image Description: A pink cloud background with a wavy black and white stripe design at the bottom right corner. Text reads ‘Disability Futures’ encircled by a curved black outline. Below that, ‘Virtual Festival July 19 and 20’. The bottom half of the graphic contains the link to register, disabilityfutures.splashthat.com and includes the logos of Ford Foundation and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
Image Description: A pink cloud background. Text reads ‘Disability Futures’ encircled by a curved black outline. Below that, ‘Bodies of Wisdom: Disability Justice x Climate Justice July 19 | 5:00-6:00 pm et disabilityfutures.splashthat.com.’ Below that are three circles of black and white headshots labeled ‘Patty Berne,’ ‘Crosby,’ and ‘Ellen Choy’ from left to right.