The Best Part of Wakin' Up

A series of bronze sculptures based on the coffee mug form. These sculptures illustrate and explore what happens to the environment and peoples of  geographic regions  dependent on coffee production when coffee buyers -usually large, corporate international food conglomerates-use tactics to underpay for the  coffee crop.

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This results in, among other things: deforestation of the native rainforest to plant low-quality high yield coffee varities; top-soil erosion resulting from this practice; poverty and hunger resulting from being forced to sell coffee crops for a lower price than it cost to grow it in the first place; and violence as the resultant economic instability ripples outward causing political unrest and as farmers plant more lucrative, often illegal crops such as coca for cocaine production.