Building on a body of work by New Orleans-based artist jackie sumell where plants become storytellers, healers, and guides, Endangered Feces features durational sculptures created through a collective building process called Revolutionary Mortar. Inspired by the shapes of the excrement of two endangered species, each decomposable sculpture consists of a mixture of dirt, natural hydraulic lime, and organic materials that highlight the connection between crops historically grown on the Gulf Coast and the plant matter in the diet of these endangered animals. The artworks decompose over time, revitalizing the landscape through intervention, intention, and education.

These two sculptures, created by a team of Rice students, faculty, and volunteers in collaboration with the artist, were initially molded in the shape of the scat of the Houston Toad and the Attwater’s Prairie Chicken. The organic materials that comprise the works will naturally decompose, contributing seeds from geo-specific native endangered plants to the Harris Gully area. Both the Houston Toad and the Attwater’s Prairie-Chicken are endangered species, facing decline due to habitat loss, climate change, and other factors. Efforts are currently underway by the Houston Zoo, the Attwater Prairie Chicken National Wildlife Refuge, and other conservation organizations to protect and preserve these important local species. Learn more through the links below.

Saving the Houston toad with the Houston Zoo 

Attwater Prairie Chicken National Wildlife Refuge

Platform: jackie sumell is organized by Alison Weaver, Suzanne Deal Booth Executive Director of the Moody Center for the Arts, in partnership with Rice University Art Department Associate Professor Natasha Bowdoin. 

The Platform series is made possible by the Moody Center for the Arts Founders Circle. 

The artist would like to thank the Moody, Natasha Bowdoin, Denali Art Solutions, Ursa Eyer, Keaton Schiller, Katie Green, Colton Price, Jaide Cooper, Matthew Schneider, Cassidy Johnson, Chaney, all the animals who refused to give up.

Since launching in 2017, the artists commissioned for the Platform series include Jarrod Beck, Rana Begum, Julia Gartrell, Eva LeWitt, Nina Katchadourian, Devin Kenny, Kameelah Janan Rasheed, Edra Soto, Martha Tuttle, and We Make Carpets.