14 Plots (Spill File No. 0650898) is a site-specific installation by Colin Lyons which memorializes the environmental legacy of 62-64 Scio Street. On August 31, 2006, an oil leak was discovered during the removal of a 2,000 gallon underground storage tank at the southeast corner this site. Over 30 tons of grossly contaminated soil was removed from the surrounding area, and 14 test borings (TB–1 – TB–14 on map) were taken throughout the lot to assess the scale of contamination on the site. Remediation efforts have been conducted on the site over the past decade, and currently, the city of Rochester is soliciting proposals for redeveloping this land.
Over the course of Current Seen, Lyons will gather rubble and meticulously polish it using a traditional lithographic process called levigating. The surfaces of these polished slabs will then be acid-etched with the 2006 environmental contamination study, and installed at the locations of the 14 sample plots. Radiating from the source of the original leak, the geography of these monuments tells the story of the land’s contamination at a time when it is considered for commercial speculation. This project continues Lyon’s history of interrogating industrial environmental impact and destructive land use and pollution.
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