My artist's book "Nursery: The River that Flows Both Ways" is a reflection on the biodiversity and history of the Hudson River, which the Munsee Lenape called 'Muhheakantuck' (the river that flows both ways).
Knowing the story of our local land where we live and work is the groundwork, literally, for building a local economy. My research took me back to before the internet, before global supply chains, before the Erie Canal, before fur trading, to a time when it was imperative to know where their water and food came from in order to survive. And I realized, this is actually still true on a collective, species level. My prose foregrounds the indigenous wisdom of reciprocity and intimacy with the land and its watershed, and it asks how we might apply this in our lives today.
As Richard Heinberg explains, “A more local and therefore more resilient economy is one in which people feel they have more of a stake in production and distribution as well as consumption; one in which they have more knowledge of where their goods come from and what happens to them at the end of their lifecycle." I also suggest that we know the basics, starting with where our own water comes from, and where our waste goes. There is no 'away.'!
Join The List
Want to hear from us occasionally? Subscribe to our newsletter