1. Mendieta's Siluetas 

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Ana Mendieta’s Silueta Series (1973-1980) represents a profound engagement with the landscape through the ephemeral presence of the artist's own body. Mendieta often chose sites laden with personal and cultural significance, such as her native Cuba and her home in Iowa, to embed her silhouette using natural materials or her own form. The transient nature of these works is critical; they were often subject to the elements, a process that highlights themes of decay, absence, and the passage of time. This aspect of her work echoes a deep commitment to the earth as a source of identity and a return to origins, reflecting on displacement, belonging, and the female form within the landscape. Mendieta's practice, which combined performance, earth-art, and sculpture, challenged the endurance of artistic expression and the impermanence of life. In documenting these fleeting "earth-body" works through photography and film, Mendieta underscored the temporality of her artistic interventions, allowing the viewer only a mediated experience of the original act and its setting.

 

While I reference Mendieta extensively in my critical reflection, I choose to focus on the temporary nature of her Siluetas Series as I think about what happens to the holes I dig after I dig them, and my first temporary artwork, Ladder in My Garden. Beyond not being precious with the artworks, Mendieta was interested in how time impacted her work, but unlike Goldsworthy's emphasis on environmental observation, the temporary nature of her work seemed to operate as an assertion, one about forced migration and about death. The aggression of these silhouettes' death as they burst into flames or become engulfed with water, in my opinion, speak to her attention towards violence. 

 

References:

- Blocker, J. (1999). Where Is Ana Mendieta?: Identity, Performativity, and Exile.

- Viso, O. M. (2004). Ana Mendieta: Sculpture and Performance 1972-1985.

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2. Smithson's Mirror Displacements

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Robert Smithson's "Mirror Displacements" (1969), conducted in the Yucatan Peninsula, can be seen as a commentary on the recontextualization of landscape. The placement of mirrors in natural settings disrupts the viewer’s interpretation of space, creating a dialogue between the organic and the geometric, the found and the placed. These displacements question the integrity of setting and form, situating the art in a transient state between creation and dissolution. Smithson's use of mirrors also speaks to the site-non-site dialectic, juxtaposing the boundlessness of nature with the confines of the gallery space, thus dematerializing the landscape while also drawing attention to its alteration by human perception. In thinking about Heideggerian 'perception' versus 'the perceived,' I too am interested in the actions I impart on the environment versus the existence of the environment itself (qua-environment). 

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References: 

- Smithson, R. (1996). Robert Smithson: The Collected Writings. 

- Tsai, E. (1991). Robert Smithson: Unearthed: Drawings, Collages, Writings.

- Heidegger, M. (1985). History of the Concept of Time.

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3. Long's River Avon Mud Drawings

 

Richard Long's River Avon Mud Drawings (1984) embodies the essence of his practice in landscape and art, converging the physicality of working with the materiality of the natural world. By using mud from the River Avon and his fingers as instruments, Long invokes a dialogue with the environment that is direct and tactile. This intimate engagement emphasizes the human presence within nature and evokes a primal connection to the earth. The psychological process behind the creation of these mud drawings is not only a reflection of Long's personal interaction with the landscape but also a broader meditation on time, movement, and the marks humans, and more specifically, artists, leave upon the world.

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Long's reference to movement his artwork work does not translate the same way in my own artwork. If anything, while there is evidence of movement, I believe my work to be perceived as having an imposing stillness or 'snapshot' quality, aided by the sturdiness of the forms I cast. However, his direct dialogue with the environment resonates with my own. If anything, River Avon Mud Drawings help me think about my more private practice of digging and the movement I impart at that stage. 

 

References:

- Roelstraete, D. (2010). Richard Long: Time and Space. https://saint-martin-bookshop.com/products/richard-long

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5. Holmwood's Cannibal and Witch Eat the Rich

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Sigrid Holmwood's "Cannibal and Witch Eat the Rich" (2017), presented at the Annely Juda Fine Art, London, is as much a historical inquiry as it is a contemporary critique. Holmwood's use of historically accurate plant dyes is integral to her practice, situating her work within the lineage of peasant painting traditions while also engaging with the discourse on sustainability and the industrialization of art materials. The use of plant dyes is not just a technical choice but an ideologically loaded one, positioning her work within the larger context of environmental and social history. As I continue to cultivate cochineal beetles, I ask myself again and again: should I use beetle pigment in my own work, or is the reference I make using a vibrant red in my work enough? 

 

References:

- Holmwood, S. (2017). Peasant Paintings out of Peasant Materials: The Use of Historical Plant Dyes in Painting and Their Role in Contemporary Art. http://en.theshopandpermagate.art/posts/sigridholmwoodplantspigmentsandpeasantspainting

- Holmwood, S. The Peasant Paints: expanding painting decolonially through planting and pigment-making.  https://research.gold.ac.uk/id/eprint/30355/1/ART_thesis_HolmwoodS_2021.pdf

- Dateagle Art Gallery (2017). Interview with Sigrid Holmwood.

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5. Goldsworthy's Clay Tree Wall

 

Andy Goldsworthy’s Clay Tree Wall (1990), created in the Grizedale Forest, UK, serves as a testament to the temporality and transformative nature of natural materials. Goldsworthy’s intervention with the tree through clay evokes a sensitivity towards the interplay of growth and decay. The importance of the clay cracks in the work emphasizes the processual aspect of his art, where the formation of cracks becomes a visual metaphor for the passage of time and ecological cycles. His work reflects a profound engagement with the characteristics of his chosen materials, allowing the forces of nature to contribute to the creative process.

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Goldworthy's showcase of the way natural materials act has been very influential in my own practice. In GARDEN CRATERS, I made each plaster iteration with less herculite and more fine plaster cast (the later produces less detail and is more fragile). In turn, I was forced to make thicker casts of each subsequent crater, or be willing to let them crack—which Crater 2 did. Natsuki Iwamoto and I have talked extensively about our shared interest in the way different materials may deteriorate quickly, and act and change the artwork as they will. Particularly existing in a gallery and museum scene that values preservation, working with fragile or unpredictable media is meant to not only respect my use of natural and man made materials, but assert my lack of preciousness with my resulting artworks. 

 

References:

- Goldsworthy, A. (1990). Hand to Earth: Andy Goldsworthy Sculpture, 1976-1990

- Bishop, C. (2005). Installation Art: A Critical History.

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6. Dion's The Flea Market and other Object Lessons

 

In Mark Dion's The Flea Market and other Object Lessons (2014), exhibited at Georg Kargl Fine Arts, Vienna, the artist's collection of objects adopts a scientific and philosophical approach to explore the relationship between knowledge, classification, and representation. Dion's methodologies are akin to those of a natural historian, yet they are imbued with a critical awareness of the historical and cultural constructs surrounding the acquisition and display of objects. By curating found items, Dion challenges the viewers’ perceptions of value, context, and the museum as an institution.

 

In my own practice, I continue to collect objects in the hope that they will inform future research, even if they currently do not have an explicit use right now. I am intrigued by Dion's approach to archeological digs, collection, and display, and how I may eventually make my own scientific and philosophical research more explicit in my future artwork.

 

References:

- Dion, M. (1999). Mark Dion: Archaeology.

- Dion, M. (2009). CCA Lecture. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5yB2thWxBI&t=16s

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7. Fischer's You

 

Urs Fischer's exhibition You at Gavin Brown's Enterprise in New York, in 2007, starkly redefined the concept of space within an art gallery through a literal and metaphorical excavation. The act of carving out a massive hole in the gallery floor created an imposing void, confronting the visitor with an undeniable sense of absence of conventional art and also, presence. This excavation challenges the sanctity of the gallery's physical space and questions the very foundation (both concrete and conceptual) upon which art is usually encountered. Fischer's intervention speaks to the creation through destruction, urging the viewer to consider the temporality and transience of art and its spaces. The visual of the hole becomes a potent symbol for the unseen, the unmade, and the potentiality that lurks beneath the surface of the established order. The work impels a dialogue about the role of the artist in the negation or creation of spaces, positing the gallery not just as a venue for display but as a subject of the artistic process itself.

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As I think about creating political dialogue with the holes I dig, I find that Fischer's locational choice is critical to his message. Similarly, my recurrent use of the garden sends a different message (although perhaps not quite as clear). 

 

References:

- Saltz, J. (2007). Can you Dig It? https://nymag.com/arts/art/reviews/41266/

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8. Cerqueira Leite's Calcify

 

Juliana Cerqueira Leite's Calcify (2017), displayed at TJ Boulting in London, involves the artist's full-bodied engagement with materials to explore themes of embodiment and transformation. Leite's physical process and embedment in materials such as clay and plaster capture the dynamics of her movements, leaving a trace of her interaction in the resulting sculpture. This tactile approach raises questions about the nature of materiality in art, particularly how the body can become both a tool and a medium in the creation process. Leite's work can be seen as a visceral investigation into the properties of her chosen materials and the corporeal experience of space and form. 

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In my plaster casts, the presence of the body can be found in the dimensions of the hole (which are wide enough for my hands to dig down) and in the hints of finger marks. Like Mendieta, Cerqueira Leite's use of body as both tool and medium resonates with my own environmental processes. I chose Calcify specifically as a reference because of the repeated negatives that she makes of her body. Her interest in iteration appeals to my iterations in GARDEN CRATERS. 

 

References:

- Bhullar, D. (2022). Juliana Cerqueira Leite's sculptures reclaim female body from the clutches of patriarchy. https://www.stirworld.com/see-features-juliana-cerqueira-leites-sculptures-reclaim-female-body-from-the-clutches-of-patriarchy

- Cerqueira Leite, J. (2019) Calcify. https://www.julianacerqueiraleite.com/orogenesis-mann-2018-1

 

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9. Starling's Shedboatshed

 

Simon Starling's Shedboatshed (Mobile Architecture No. 2)" (2005) deconstructs and reconstructs a wooden shed into a boat and back into a shed. This transformation of forms is an iterative process that questions the functionality and identity of objects. By altering the same object between different states, Starling engages with themes of transformation, migration, and the lifecycle of materials. The work exists in a perpetual state of becoming, challenging the viewer's perception of permanence and the meanings we assign to objects within different contexts. 

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I look to Shedboatshed as a critical context in which to situate my iterative casts: from the initial hole I dig, to its plaster cast, to the paper cast of the plaster cast. In contrast to Starling, each of my iterative artworks introduce new materials, but shares the general crater form (Starling keeps his materials as constant and changes their form). This material play, and rhythm that is formed in his artwork, speak to my desire for rhythmic transformation in my casts. I find Starling's choice to make shed, boat, and shed all one artwork, as opposed to three distinct pieces, interesting—if I were to do the same, would the emphasis in my casts change in too significant a way?

 

References:

- Starling, S. (2005). Shedboatshed (Mobile Architecture No. 2).

- Sooke, A. (2013). Simon Starling: interview. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/art/turner-prize/9918561/Simon-Starling-interview.html

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10. Starling's Kakteenhaus

 

In Kakteenhaus (2002), Simon Starling transported a cactus from the arid landscape of Southern Spain to the cold climate of Germany, housing it within a specially designed environment. This translocation speaks to issues of displacement and adaptation, and the broader implications of environmental manipulation. The cactus, alien to its new surroundings, becomes a living sculpture that necessitates constant care, highlighting the relationship between nature and artificial habitats. Starling's work interrogates the role of the artist as a caretaker and the gallery as an ecosystem, prompting reflections on the natural world's precarious position within the Anthropocene. 

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Kakteenhaus serves as a great reference when thinking about my research at Kew Gardens, and the energy that is required to upkeep non-native plants. In my own research, I struggle with the handlings of the cactus clippings I brought back from Cabo de Gata-Nijar, even though the cacti would have otherwise died if I had not taken them from the landscape. As I consider what to do with my two cacti that are infected with cochineal beetles, and how the beetles' growing population are beginning to effect the health of the cacti, I am confronted with important ethical questions: should I leave the beetles to take all the nutrients from the cacti, eventually resulting in the death of the cacti and then all the beetles? Or should I intervene by removing beetles at the end of their 60-70 day life cycle (determinable by their size), so that both populations may live? Intervention as a politically and philosophically complicated topic continues to plague my upkeep of my cacti, and perhaps, will inform a future work as it has for Starling. 

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References:

- Starling, S. (2002). Kakteenhaus.​

- Rosenberg, A., Heynen, J., & Eichler, D. (2009) Simon Starling: Under Lime. 

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11. De St. Croix's Dead Ice 

 

Blane de St. Croix's exhibition "How to Move a Landscape" at Mass MOCA in 2020 features works that are deeply concerned with environmental issues and the materiality of representation. Dead Ice (2014) is particularly notable for its use of various materials to reconstruct a physical sense of glacial forms and the landscapes they inhabit. De St. Croix’s practice involves an intensive investigation into the substances he employs, such as resin, foam, and pigments, to mimic the texture and appearance of ice, raising awareness of climate change and the human impact on the earth. His sculptures are not only representational but also material explorations that embody the tension between the natural world and its artistic depiction. 

 

References:

- Mass MOCA. (2020). Blane de St. Croix: 'How to Move a Landscape.' https://massmoca.org/event/blane-de-st-croix-how-to-move-a-landscape/

- Bhullar, D. (2020). Creativity of Blane De St. Croix’s expansive sculptural art meets climate science. https://www.stirworld.com/see-features-creativity-of-blane-de-st-croix-s-expansive-sculptural-art-meets-climate-science