November 13, 2011, Attawapiskat First Nation declared a housing emergency. Black mold was found to be in the houses. When we watch “Holmes on Homes”, the room, where black mold is found is blocked off from the rest of the house. People in contamination suits, come in and bag the moldy drywall. The area is treated. There were photographs of shacks built by Band members, some had blue tarps as roofs. This image has stayed with me. I beaded a blue tarp with greatly magnified images of black mold. The tablecloth is titled Attiwapiskat, which is part of the installation Don’t Breathe, Don’t Drink.

I am alarmed by the contaminated water issues that many First Nation communities across Canada face.

I have beaded magnified bacterium and parasites that are found in the 94 First Nations that currently have boil water advisories. I have put these into resin inside glasses of all sizes and baby bottles. I wanted to visually represent these First Nations and the scope of the problem.