"The central image of each of Marie Cameron’s Critical Masses is a midden: a refuse dump that
has resulted from human occupation and consumption. It has taken more than a decade for
Cameron to create this suite of works, and the first question viewers may ask when
encountering them is this: “What is the story behind this pile of debris?” Each work yields a
specific narrative when inspected, while the series, seen as a whole, offers up a broader
environmental warning rooted in the artist’s lifelong passions. Cameron’s interest in marine
ecosystems goes back to her childhood and early life in Nova Scotia, where she explored
rugged beaches and philosophized. Among the things she recognized is this: the ocean is an
intersection and at low tide it reveals itself. Cameron understood that stories told by shoreline
debris can be directly and profoundly connected to human presence and its impact. This
realization is central to the origins of her Critical Masses." - John Seed