The central idea of this piece was to show the vulnerability and depth of the ground as well as the value of all life, even that of lichen and mosses. It shows our relationship with water and the the way it connects and provides for the land and us. The hidden underbelly of the piece was meant to reference painted turtles, a native creature whose under-shell reveals a red and black rorschach design. It symbolizes the indigenous peoples of the Lenape nation who have continued to live on and steward this land, often in secret.

Inspiration:

︎ Native clay and slate filled soil
︎ The  Delaware River or River of Human Beings
︎ Native Lichen: Cladonia cristatella & Candelaria concolor &  Flavoparmelia caperata
︎ Local Switchgrass
︎ Painted turtle
︎ Lenape Nation Pennsylvania Tribal Flag

Written Land Acknowledgement

Philadelphia is the land of the Lenape Nation, peacemakers and caretakers of this land and The River of Human Beings for 10,000 years. I, as a dweller and settler of this land, acknowledge the broken promises of the past, that of the Walking Purchase and of the forced removal of the Lenape people for over 250 years. Today we walk upon this land which the Lenape have continued to call home, hiding in plain sight for centuries, alongside members of the Cherokee, Navajo, Cree, Seminole, and Creek tribes.