Citrus Lace Dress, 2020

This sculpture, made from orange peels, brings attention to the issues of food waste, composting, buying organic produce and eating a plant based diet.

The dress is fashioned out of several layers of “lace” made from upcycled cheese-cloth decorated with “sequins” cut from citrus peels. The design of the dress is inspired by fashions from the 1900’s belle époque period and the lace pattern is based upon a dress belonging to Nancy’s great-grandmother. The entire piece including the thread, is entirely biodegradable.

According to a 2017 Natural Resources Defense Council report, 40% of the food we produce in the United States is thrown away. At the same time, 42 million Americans face food insecurity- less than 1/3 of  the food we discard would be enough to feed this population.