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.

We are currently looking for funding and a permanent home for this public sculpture in Park City, Utah.

The Research Process

Quantifying and counting the quantity of available core samples from Silver King Mine.

Searching archives and finding letters to extract text from. Excerpts from miners’ letters will be embedded in the sculpture’s interior.

Echoes of Silver

5 pm - 7 pm on Friday, October 16th

1354 Park Ave, Park City, UT 84060

The artists will lead an exhibition walkthrough at 5:15pm. The exhibition is free and open to the public.

Echoes of Silver will open to the public on October 16th from 5- 7 p.m. The art exhibition will be hosted by Friends of Ski Mining Mountain History at Park City’s historic Miners Hospital in City Park. The event will feature work from artists Mackenzy Gilmore and Janika Linville. The event curates a collection of work in response to the artists’ recent research of the rich silver mining history of Park City, through collaboration with the Park City Museum. The students worked alongside Kellie Bornhoft in researching the geology and stories of individual miners as they prepared to fabricate a larger public sculpture. Visitors will encounter familiar pieces from local silver mining history and new iterations of their stories through the use of alternative photography, sculpture, and video installation. The artists will lead an exhibition discussion at 5:15 pm.