Steffani Jemison

Built by Jemison using transparent plastic barrels with steel and rubber components, these rock tumblers continuously rotate, transforming the contents into smooth, clean, refined materials. Stones such as snowflake obsidian, apache tears as well as pennies and glass are combined with locally sourced debris. While the stones and glass seem to become more valuable through the agitation process, the coins and hardware are degraded and lose their function. Over the run of the exhibition, museum staff will empty the polished materials and add new rough contents until the full accumulation of raw materials have been processed.