Artwork > Orphan Well Adoption Agency

The Orphan Well Adoption Agency (OWAA) is dedicated to finding caretakers for orphan and abandoned oil and gas wells in Alberta. The OWAA is also exploring new methods of reading, assessing, and understanding the health of sites contaminated by the oil and gas industry. Orphan Well Adoption Agency has had temporary offices at TRUCK Contemporary Art in Calgary, AB (2017) and Latitude 53 in Edmonton, AB (2018-2019), and Art Gallery of Grande Prairie (2019). Members of the public are invited to meet with an OWAA representative and apply to adopt a well. If approved, caretakers receive a certificate of adoption with the name and location of an orphan well in Alberta, a postcard, and can correspond with their well through letter writing. An exhibition catalog published by Latitude 53 is available through the Latitude 53 bookshop. Thank you Canada Council for the Arts and Alberta Foundation for the Arts for their generous support of this work.

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Ram River, Inner End (Service Roads)
Installation View, Latitude 53
carbon pencil and ink on paper
27.94 x 35.56 cm
Detail, Orphan Well Site Readings (Drill Cuttings Samples), 13-01-001-20 W4
iron filings, magnets and paper
41.5 × 51.5 cm
2018
Dowsing Rods
Installation View, Latitude 53
Whittled branches
Longest: 30.48 x 81.28 cm
2017
2017
2017
2017
2017
2017
2017
2017
2017
Dowsing Rods in Flight
Whittled branches
Longest: 30.48 x 81.28 cm
2017
Inner End (Service Roads), 2017
carbon pencil and ink on paper
30.4 x 22.8 cm
2017
2020
2020
2020
2020
2020
2017