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This project imagines a narrative of contemporary pioneers, traveling
to explore hostile territory. It maps in three-dimensional form a journey
through the Willamette watershed. Some wild, undomesticated species become
explorers. Like the early human explorers, they find rivers to be the
best means to cover long stretches of territory. They set off in search
of uncharted land. They come to the former warehouse at the Templeton
Building as scouts, ambassadors, anthropologists, explorers, pioneers
and colonists. With them they bring maps and stories to record a new world
they encounter, and they carry with them cartographies of the places they
left behind.
Each boat contains plants representative of a particular
area of the watershed, beginning with sub-alpine and continuing through
lower elevations. The hulls of the boats are inscribed with topographic
maps from these locations. The floor of the gallery is covered with a
map of the entire Willamette and its tributaries, which flows visually
into a video journey along the river, projected at the far end of the
space.
At the end of the exhibition, the pioneers need new homes to settle in:
the plants are adopted by local individuals and organizations. |
