Curing Time

Photo by Christine Chitnis
The display at World's Fair Gallery was Kelli's fourth iteration of this project. As an artist, her primary medium is clay, but at the time she conceptualized this idea, she was beginning to experiment with home canning. "I remember looking at my collection of tiny jam jars," Kelli explains, "and envisioning how powerful a large-scale installation of them would be, particularly as a vehicle for engaging topics such as labor, value, community, time and impermanence."
Photo by Christine Chitnis
Even after years of doing this project (she plans to return to it again in the future), Kelli is continually surprised at the immense amount of time and labor involved in the canning process, not to mention that of the farmers in growing the produce.
Photo by Christine Chitnis
"It's important to me that the pickles taste as good as they look," Kelli says, "so I spend significant time beforehand researching recipes and seeking out particular spice and brine combinations that sound appealing for a given vegetable. Of the 20 varieties included in this last show, I used a different recipe for each."