Spoil, scent oil, 2020, 50 ml bottle

"Spoil" (2020) is an olfactory installation that physically and poetically entangles us with the smell of soil near sites of gold extraction. Created in collaboration with LA-based perfumer and scent artist Dana El Masri, Spoil blends deep earth notes, terracotta, Puna herbs, gun powder, apricot pits and unripe peaches with the sharp smells of garlic blossoms and bitter almonds, resembling two of the most harmful by-products of gold mining operations: arsenic and cyanide. Inspired by the rich and intricate forms of life that refuse capitalist socio-environmental degradation near the mine, this fragrant work foregrounds the colonial processes still at work in exploiting land and transforming it into commodities. Graphic design: Mina Lee "Patterns of Indulgence" (2020) follows Victorian Era wallpaper designs and William Morris' explorations of Scheele Green into a present investigation of the patterns of colonial extraction by Canadian corporations. The colour swatches mimic the palettes of lithium mining as well as the infamous arsenic greens used in the production of vibrant yet deadly household commodities. The patterns are composed by logos of the twenty-five most powerful and contested Canadian Mining corporations operating in the Americas between 2020 and 2021. The logos' largely inconspicuous, unmemorable, malleable and almost permutable designs speak to the vast levels of secrecy and anonymity in which they operate, often unregulated, and with robust impunity around the world. These projects were developed with the generous support of Ontario Arts Council and Toronto Arts Council.

Dana Prieto (b. Buenos Aires, Argentina) is an artist, educator and researcher based in Toronto. Her site-responsive work examines personal, collective, and institutional relations with colonial structures through a careful attention to the ground, and the different forms of living and dying within it. Dana creates immersive installations that centre ceramic processes and soil-derived materials to reflect on the technologies of containment found in the places where she lives and works: looking at mines, bodies, nests, vessels, and land. Dana holds a Master of Visual Studies from University of Toronto and a Bachelor of Fine Arts from OCAD University. Her work has been presented in galleries, public spaces and informal cultural venues across Canada, Argentina, Mexico and USA.

www.danaprieto.com

@dana___prieto