144 Horse Chestnuts
2009

144 Horse Chestnuts, strung for playing conkers, laid down in a 12×12 grid formation on the floor beneath the accompanying text, which is printed on A3 paper, matching the dimensions of the laid out conkers below.

One hundred and forty four horse chestnuts: grown on the tree outside my house. One hundred and forty four horse chestnuts, fallen onto the road; destined for certain destruction under the wheels of various vehicles. One hundred and forty four horse chestnuts: collected in a bag; rescued from certain destruction on the road outside my house. One hundred and forty four pilot holes drilled with a miniature drill. One hundred and forty four pilot holes widened with my mother’s darning needle (the same darning needle that she lent me over twenty years ago to widen the pilot holes I’d drilled into my horse chestnuts). One hundred and forty four holes in horse chestnuts further widened by using the tool on a Swiss Army Knife™ that was designed to pick stones from horses’ shoes. One hundred and forty four lengths of string cut. One hundred and forty four horse chestnuts: strung to play conkers, all but one of which destined for certain destruction. One conker destined to become the champion conker; the one hundred and forty three-er. One hundred and forty four potential horse chestnut trees destroyed.