Over 80% of the world’s almonds grow in California’s arid Central Valley, which regularly suffers from drought and further aridification due to climate change. One pound of these almonds uses about 1,230 gallons of water to grow – almost 12 liters for a single kernel. 

The site-specific installation One Pound of Almonds consists of 17 concentric circles of gallon jugs (3.78 liters each) hand-filled in a three-day performance with water from the heavily polluted Salton Sea. A one-pound glass jar of almonds stands in the center of these circles on top of a small pillar. To get to the almonds, visitors pass along a narrow pathway through the field of water in 1,230 plastic gallons.