Invisible Labors: Prairie Carbon Sequestering and Papermaking

Invisible Labors: Prairie Carbon Sequestering and Papermaking is a curated garden project in the 500 square foot front yard of Boundary Gallery (curated by Susannah Papish) exploring the underground carbon remediation activity of prairie plants and the process of hand papermaking with these plants during the fall/winter season.

Commercial papermaking requires a vast system of labor (and ecologically damaging processes), which through industrialization is hidden to the average consumer. Due to industrial farming and commercial industries like papermaking, prairie grasslands are now considered North America's most endangered ecosystem. Inspired by the Wages for Housework movement in the 70s which coined the term, invisible labor, the Invisible Labors garden engages the public with thematic signage, educational materials, and public events to encourage alternative histories of and uses for these plants and processes.

In the Summer and Fall of 2021, the garden was planted with live plants, as well as seeded with prairie perennials usable for hand papermaking, which can take up to three years to be visible above ground as plants.