About me:
The Exxon Ridicule Pole was created by Mike Webber as memorial to corporate greed and the labyrinths of the legal system. It's dedicated to Exxon, who has refused to meet its debt or recognize its obligation to the communities and ecosystems profoundly affected by the Exxon Valdez oil spill.
On the top of this seven foot yellow cedar pole is the upside-down face of Exxon’s now retired C.E.O., Lee Raymond. Four days after the oil spill, an Exxon spokesperson flew to Cordova and assured the community that we were lucky it was Exxon who spilled the oil. Exxon’s ironic, much quoted words, “We will make you whole,” have haunted Cordova these 18 years and are floating on the surface of the oil.
Lee Raymond’s eyes are “$” signs, and his gaping mouth is spilling oil, like the Exxon Valdez tanker that ran aground on Bligh Reef in Prince William Sound, March 24, 1989. The oil that is breaching out of Raymond’s mouth, turns into an oil slick littered with “$” signs. One of the monikers for the oil spill is the “Money Spill,” and those who worked on the clean-up were referred to as the “spillionaires.” The Money Spill divided communities and created ripples of social chaos that still affect people nearly two decades later.
Beautiful and sad. I love your vision. Thanks for the add, I'm proud to be in your list. Please pass along much love to the Hippy Cove, EPC and Mt. Eyak kids. Cordova!
