Did caring for others form an important part of your experience during the COVID-19 pandemic? For this artist, taking care of her three children meant she had little choice but to incorporate this labor into her art making. This sculpture elevates care work—often unpaid and unseen—and frames it as something worthy of commemoration and public discourse. Venetia Dale collected, molded, and cast her children’s discarded Ritz crackers, orange peels, raisins, and other snacks that were dropped throughout their home during lockdown. She preserved a moment in time that would otherwise be fleeting and discarded, both literally and figuratively. The casting process is long, requiring up to seven molds. While the sculpture is a tangible representation of the food children waste as they learn to feed themselves, it also pays homage to the patience and thoughtfulness that caretakers of young children—often women, whether biological mothers or others—demonstrate.

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