The Prospector is a character conceived by Quilos and the Windmill, comprising artist duo Michele Whiting and Linda Khatir, used to portray a sense of breaking into the unknown. The character was influenced by a quote the artists came across in American history books, stating, “equipped with all kinds of gadgets, many of them useless, a prospector comes west”.
The artists cite the character of the prospector as the starting point for much of their work, due to their personal affinity with the character heading off into the unknown, just as they headed off to the then unfamiliar Oxbow, Michigan, to take up their first joint residency.
The work is largely influenced by their time in Oxbow; the places they have been and the people they have met, as well as the history. The artists’ joint practice involves finding objects and reworking them in response to their environment, in order to explore the themes of fixed reality and illusion.
The dual nature of their practice enhances the interplay between their portfolios and therefore embraces a variety of mediums in their exploration of space and place; these include writing, drawing, photography, sound, and film.