Studio Visit with Stacey L Kirby on Burnaway

A black, three-walled sculpture measuring 9 ft x 9 ft x 8.5 ft will embed core samples

vertically in the outer walls. The cores will be layered according to their rock type, inspired

by the strata from which they derive. In the background, the matte black walls will contrast

with the brighter rock cores. The cores are created through reaching into the deep unknown

as an act of explorative hope. By grabbing a small glimpse, geologists or miners can

imagine the larger makeup. This act of grasping into the depths is an intersection of human

curiosity and land.

In the structure’s interior, poetic text will be embedded that responds to specific historical

counts of individuals involved in Park City’s mining. The interior size and shape will reference

the scale of man cages that transported miners through the mining shafts, evoking the

surrounding dark, tight spaces they experienced, and the embedded text pays respect to

them.

By bringing together the inner and outer lives of mines, the historical and geological

narratives intertwine to tell a story of placemaking in Park City.