Artist Yto Barrada's exhibition Ways to Baffle the Wind incorporates sculptures, textiles, and films. Barrada's pieces, utilizing elements as disparate as plant-dyed fabrics, wire crab traps filled with stones, and cotton balls dangling above a fan, _____ the ways humans attempt to organize and regulate nature.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
Explanation
Context: The true subject is "Barrada's pieces" — plural. The long participial phrase "utilizing elements as disparate as plant-dyed fabrics..." is a modifier, not part of the subject.
Answer: B) explore
Why? Plural subject "Barrada's pieces" → plural present verb "explore." Simple present for an ongoing artistic statement.
Traps:
- A) has explored → singular perfect, wrong number
- C) explores → singular, wrong for plural "Barrada's pieces"
- D) exploring → non-finite participle; creates a fragment