An exhibition about past, present, & future ecologies in the Illinois River Valley.
Featuring Ryan Griffis, Emmy Lingscheit, Damon Locks, Josh Rios, Stephen Signa-Avilés
When the Landscape Recognizable Today Was Shaped is an exhibition about the dynamics of extractive land-use policies and efforts at conservation and restoration of wetland ecologies in the Illinois River Valley. The exhibition brings together documentary narrative, creative non-fiction, speculative science fiction, and forms of image/object making. It presents a world that is simultaneously real and speculative, asking questions about possible futures to understand the present differently. A central question is, “How can restoration and conservation practices be understood within a regional ecology that has been so completely transformed by regimes of settler-colonialism and industrial extraction?”
The exhibition is the result of improvisational exercises between Griffis and the other artists, who were given simple conceptual and open-ended prompts. One outcome of these improvisations is a 30-minute experimental documentary film by Ryan Griffis that is varyingly interrupted by the works of the four other artists. Another is The Recollector, a multi-part narrative sculpture by Stephen Signa-Avilés. Yet another is a lithograph by Emmy Lingscheit titled Confluence that visitors can take as a souvenir map of the show’s speculative future. And still another is the multi-channel, sculptural sound installation, Return of the Waters, by Josh Rios. Damon Locks’ Erosion (Hope Is The Soil) sonically interrupts the film at just the right moment, and Damon will also bring his sounds to life with a scheduled performance. Similarly, the Place as Practice Research Collective (Josh Rios, Deanna Ledezma and Anthony Romero) will fill the space with embodied sounds in a one-time live performance.
This exhibition and program were made possible by:
– The Campus Research Board and the Humanities Research Institute at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
– The Puffin Foundation, Ltd
– An Individual Artists Program grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events
Accessibility Statement
This exhibition includes moving images, sound, and two- and three-dimensional artworks. A 30-minute video work includes English captions.
The venue is only accessible by entrances with steps, and there is no elevator.
If you are an individual with a disability and need a reasonable accommodation to attend, please contact: watershedartandecology@gmail.com.