Paper (partially recycled), recycled cardboard, various adhesives, and whitewash
2018
Installation (Oak Room Gallery, University of Northern Colorado, Greeley, Colorado)
–
“Please, Stay on the Trail” is an installation, originally created during a summer residency at Yellowstone National Park, where viewers are welcome to interact with the constructed space. The I-beam structures are created from papier-maché and the organic forms are assembled from laser-cut paper.
.
Yellowstone National Park is the nation’s first national park; because of this the land has been relatively protected over the last 136 years. Despite the efforts of the National Park Service, the environment has still considerably transformed over the years. While certain species flourish, like the common plants of the Rockies (quaking aspen, lodge pole pine, and sagebrush), three species have become quite rare and are endemic to the park (Ross’s bentgrass, Yellowstone sulfur buckwheat, and Yellowstone sand verbena).
.
As we continue further into the Anthropocene epoch, it is important for us to remember the overlooked. Yellowstone National Park is the first national park in the United States and can only be preserved if we are aware of our actions.