Heather McMordie(opens in new tab) creates prints, puzzles and installations informed by on-site research, site-specific experiences and field observations. Her work balances artistic and scientific exploration. McMordie’s “Below, Above” series highlights the dichotomy and interrelation of soil science and our evolving ecosystems. “Below, Above” is a series consisting of seven diptychs. Each work includes an impression from a naturally corroded plate buried in the soil at Jacob’s Point, Warren, Rhode Island, and a figurative etching depicting dominant plant species at the same location (six with native plants and one with invasive species). Jacob’s Point is home to threatened plant and animal species including the salt marsh sparrow and was the site of major salt marsh restorative project in 2009 and 2010.
Using corrosion to make visible the hydrology of a salt marsh, these prints capture water movement through high and low areas of the marsh. The soil and salt marsh environments collaborate to help create the prints. Soil is the foundation of the landscape and one of the key contributors to flourishing (or declining) ecosystems. McMordie developed the series while studying with restoration scientists and ecologists who focused on salt marshes and their importance to coastal environments. The series creates a map of the salt marsh illustrating the impact of the underground soil hydrology and tidal levels.
“Below, Above (41° 42’ 40.57” N, 71° 17’ 27.55” W, Limonium carolinianum)” (pictured above) features flora known colloquially as Carolina Sea Lavender, which is native to eastern U.S. shores, connecting Rhode Island to the Georgia coast. The abstract print created by the soil on the left mimics the seed pods of the flowering stems in the illustration on the right. Visually, it illuminates how closely our surface landscapes mirror or reflect subsurface environments, revealing both thriving and threatened ecosystems.
“Below, Above (41° 42’ 41.73” N, 71° 17’ 14.11” W, Phragmites)”(opens in new tab) depicts a non-native perennial reed grass that grows predominantly in wetland areas. On the New Jersey and New York coasts, these grasses filter out pollutants but grow so rapidly that they crowd out native species. Removing the invasive species would unsettle large portions of the coasts and disrupt important pollutant removal efforts, but leaving them unmanaged risks losing native flora that foster high species diversity.
The acquisition of these two works underscores concerns over the climate crisis and changing landscapes. Appearing in the exhibition “Infinity on the Horizon,”(opens in new tab) they visualize the impact of land stewardship and colonial systems and highlight how contemporary artists are revitalizing traditional media and the artistic rendering of landscapes through new approaches.
Authored by:
Kathryn Hill
