Shortgrass Propositions
Two big holes interrupt the intricate branching patterns of the Missouri River drainage. These are etched out by sandhills, where the waters of so-called ‘infant’ streams percolate into the soil before they reach larger tributaries. In the southern dry patch, it’s chiefly the Republican River that gets refused. The waters instead collect underground in the Ogallala Aquifer, a paleolithic reservoir. This project speculates upon ecological and political transformations in a near future, after irrigation and fracking pump the ancient well wholly dry.
Initially presented at the Saint Louis Art Museum, November 15, 2019 through March 8, 2020