PRECIOUS BEINGS
Aug. 14 - 25, 2025
Terrain Land Art Residency & Exhibition
Building 5, Portland, OR
Abstract projection-mapped animation, sound, natural materials: tree trunk and segments, mossy bird nest, cottonwood fluff bird nest, cattail leaves, cottonwood catkins, sound composition. Dimensions variable. Run time: 6:30. Viewing enclosure: 8x8x8 ft.
Terrain Land Art Residency & Exhibition
Building 5, Portland, OR
Abstract projection-mapped animation, sound, natural materials: tree trunk and segments, mossy bird nest, cottonwood fluff bird nest, cattail leaves, cottonwood catkins, sound composition. Dimensions variable. Run time: 6:30. Viewing enclosure: 8x8x8 ft.
STATEMENT ON WORK
Wetlands are special. They are in-between places—where land and water are not so separate. Vital life processes unfold here: water purification, flood control, coastal protection, and the support of rich biodiversity. Wetlands are home to plants and animals that can’t survive anywhere else. Guild’s Lake, like many wetlands in North American cities, was drained in the early 20th century to make way for industry. Progress.
When I set out to build a relationship with a wetland, I found only preserves. Even so, visiting them, I observed species I rarely encounter elsewhere. The cottonwood trees shed their catkins and seeds, covering everything in a kind of fluffy summertime snow. The wind rustling the tall grasses. Water lapping. An egret hunting. A mama duck with her brood swimming closely behind. Even a beaver.
How do all of these beings feel here—hemmed in by train tracks, highways, transmission lines, and overhead flight paths? Surrounded by trash and the near-constant thrum of engines? Does simply refraining from destroying wetlands count as protection? And what do we collectively lose when our only access to these vital places is shaped by control, containment, and restriction?
Photography by Mario Gallucci
Deep thanks to RACC for their generous support of this exhibition with a 2025 Portland Projects Grant.