William Wiley
Ampersand, 2011
woodcut with acrylic
30 x 22 in.
edition of 30
published by oxbow

Composed in the wake of the 2011 nuclear crisis in Japan, Ampersand’s colorful landscape includes storage (“Stow Rage”) vats of nuclear waste and an ominous gray factory; symbols such as
a dunce cap and a wooden clog (“sabot” in French, the source of the word “sabotage”) suggest a meditation on the limits of human wisdom when it comes to technology and the environment. This limited edition woodcut with archival acrylic color was sold as a fundraiser by the Oxbow School in Napa, which offers semester-long art programs for high school juniors and seniors; for more information, please visit www.oxbowschool.org.