COMING SOON...
collaboration with Doug Barrettsite-specific installation, silk screen on biodegradable paper
variable dimensions
2018-2021
Coming Soon… plays upon signage unfortunately all too typical in the state of Florida advertising future subdivisions, Coming Soon… is about the relationship between pines and the endangered Red cockaded woodpecker. This piece was made during a residency at Noxubee National Wildlife Refuge. Creating habitat for the endangered Red-cockaded woodpecker is a priority for many federal wildlife refuges in the southeastern US. Balancing the missions of conservation and public engagement can often be challenging when the community is not informed or educated about the landscape changes even if those changes benefit ecosystem biodiversity. When understory and brush are cleared to make way for Red cockaded woodpecker habitat, citizens often are alarmed and a lack of explanation of this process can potentially create conflict between the refuge and communities that they serve. Restoring a mature pine forest to pre-European settlement condition initially involves locating and mapping older pines suitable for nesting sites, removing young hardwood trees and brush followed by prescribed burning. Prior to European settlement, Native Americans and natural processes such as fires started by lightning kept these pine ecosystems healthy. Present-day communities and stake holders that surround the refuge often use these lands for hunting and recreation as well. In collaboration with refuge personnel, Doug and I created the project, Coming Soon…. responding to the need to alert and inform the public about land that potentially will be developed as RCW habitat in a way that inspires curiosity and support for this important process. We designed a poster of a Red cockaded woodpecker images scaled three to four times larger than the size of an actual RCW for visual impact on our audience of mostly passing vehicles and a few pedestrians and cyclists. The posters are printed on cotton paper that is not only durable, but also biodegradable for minimal environmental impact.
