Cheryl Meeker
More Depleted
June 10, 2010 – 8/4/2010
Gallery 1055
Diocesan House
Gallery 1055 at Diocesan House is pleased to present More Depleted, an exhibition of photography and installation by Cheryl Meeker.
More Depleted uses 4x5 photography “anti-portraiture” and written material to educate about and explore the underreported use and effects of depleted uranium in military weaponry. The project seeks to find a way to recognize a relationship between ourselves and people impacted by our government’s policies, children born in Iraq with birth defects purportedly due to exposure to depleted uranium, including some children who are born with no eyes.
Giving individuals a packet of information on the topic and inviting them to collaborate if they feel moved to do so after reading the material, the artist finds those who would like to connect with More Depleted. The project was begun with the involvement of visual artists, for whom the condition of these children is unthinkable. Continuing with the project, new people who are interested are engaged.
Included in the exhibition is a library/archive of reliable and contested literature on the use and effects of depleted uranium, which the artist has gathered and made available to gallery goers. Clark Buckner, curator of the exhibition of Depleted Selves at Mission 17 in 2008 wrote, “This material provokes the questions: what we can confidently take to be true in this internet age, how much do we know about our military's activities, and what information has been withheld?”
More Depleted extends the project in the context of the Episcopal Diocese gallery, with photographs that have not yet been exhibited, and with additions to the archive of written material, including updates on the movements of the Environmental Protection Agency on DU, and the implications of birth defects in Fallujah that have come to light since the last exhibition.
The public may collaborate with this project via an interactive website where one can first become informed about the topic of DU, and then upload an appropriate “anti-portrait.” Suggestions for taking action on the issue are also accessible at this site, as well as a randomly circulating series of photos previously uploaded, including images from the exhibitions. The project website URL is:
http://www.depletedselves.com
In conjunction with the exhibition More Depleted, an event will be held at the Diocese, on July 1, 2010, at 7 pm. A conversation with Gretel Munroe, via Skype from Boston and a recorded interview with Doug Weir from the UK will be an opportunity for those interested to learn more about the topic. An overview of the history and health effects of depleted uranium, new EPA involvement with the issue, and an update on ICBUW’s work with UN resolutions on DU will be included in the discussion.
Gretel Munroe is a graduate of the Harvard School of Public Health and the University of Massachusetts/Amherst where she received a Master’s Degree in Human Nutrition. She is a Registered Dietitian and a Licensed Nutritionist in the State of Massachusetts. She has taken courses in biochemistry and physics. Gretel is a member of Grassroots Actions for Peace, Concord where Nuclear Metals/Starmet manufactured DU penetrator shells for 25 years. She is a member of the ICBUW Science Team.
Doug Weir is International Coordinator for the International Coalition to Ban Uranium Weapons (ICBUW.) Doug has been Development Worker of the Campaign Against Depleted Uranium since 2005 and ICBUW Coordinator since 2006. He holds degrees in Geology and Journalism.
Cheryl Meeker is a visual artist and writer based in San Francisco who uses 4x5 photography, installation, social sculpture, video, drawing, and the Internet to explore sustenance in a market dominated economy. Her work has been exhibited at Mission 17, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, Southern Exposure, and the Oakland Art Museum, and her art writing has been published in NYFA Current, Stretcher, and Art Papers. She is a co-founder and co-publisher of Stretcher.org and also works in the collaborative team Dan and Cheryl with Dan Spencer.
Gallery 1055 inside Diocesan House
1055 Taylor Street, San Francisco
415-673-5015
gallery hours: 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday
