AN OFFERING

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2016, Laser-engraved raw eggs, dye, sodium silicate

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Included in C.A.S.T.  group exhibition at the Secor Gallery, Toledo OH and then installed at Sidecut Park, Maumee OH

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A clinical approach is applied to a centuries old traditional Ukrainian practice of drawing on eggs. For this approach, Jardine interviewed individuals in various stages of recovery from an eating disorder, asking them to reflect upon and describe how their choices made while immersed in their illness led to loss and regret. Every individual expressed feelings of guilt and selfishness for the destruction caused by their self-imposed starvation. One individual stated, "I regret the people I hurt in my illness. I destroyed relationships and ruined potentials. I regret the things I could have done." 

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Their responses inform the laser-engraved code that is represented through the symbols that wrap through the circles of eggs. The code illustrates how the rigidity of obsessively controlled choices lead to uncontrolled results of chaos and regret. In response to the collective sense of remorse, Jardine presented this piece as an offering, a selfless act that acknowledges the losses experienced in both the individual and the whole.