A diamond made entirely from the cremated remains of an armadillo found slain by auto in Palestine, Texas. "In Native American creation myths, the armadillo is viewed as a slow animal that while unhurried always gets it right. In modern times that admirable trait makes the animal a frequent victim of hit-and-runs, demonstrating how so often ancient and modern worlds collide." (Michael Petry on Roadkill Diamond in Nature Morte, p.201) The gem's girdle is laser-inscribed with title, date, artist's name, original carbon material, and diamond certification code:
microscopic detail of laser inscription
Roadkill Diamond forms part of Tendered Currency, an installation exploring perceived value, U.S. culture, alchemy, and authenticity. Both diamonds and art are symbols of scarcity, emotion, investment, luxury, taste and exertion; both the diamond and art economies rely on cheap labor, careful manipulation of supply, and manufactured demand within insulated markets. As capital moves with increasing velocity, value itself has become an increasingly variable and subjective denominator in society, influencing the definition of art, and what it might obtain in both cultural and economic terms. Tendered Currency collaborates with these systems to investigate what we value and how we value it.
