Sellwood Riverfront Collective

This project is a final assignment for my Art & Ecology class (learn more about eco art  here ). It is aimed to bring awareness to our interrelatedness and entanglements with nonhumans around us.

I am drawn to the Sellwood Riverfront and Willamette as someone who is always drawn to bodies of water. I have mostly interacted with the river in the last two summers when I've worked as a kayaking guide and instructor around Ross Island and the Sellwood Riverfront. This past summer, jumping in the river and sitting on the dock helped me ground through an intense breakup and life shift. I have felt most connected to place when sitting along the Willamette and have learned how important it is to others in our city in the process.

I am studying Environmental Studies and am interested in how art can help bridge understandings of environmental issues and concepts, especially when they are abstract and hard to grasp. I draw inspiration from eco artists such as  Ana Mendieta ,  Lynn Margulis , The  Eat Your Sidewalk Collective ,  Mierle Ukeles ,  Vaughn Bell ,  Natalie Jeremijenko , and many others. I am especially drawn to artists who work with data visualization such as  Adrian Segal  and the variety of maps which people are creating with  Lidar technology , such as  these amazing maps  of Washington geologic phenomena and the  map of the Willamette below .

If you are interested in learning more about this project or have any feedback for me, please don't hesitate to contact me through  this form .

These are organized according to parenthetical citations on the poster. (1)  https://eatyoursidewalk.org/collections/all  ;  https://www.spurse.org/education  (2)  https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/freshwater-ecosystem/  ;  https://sciencing.com/role-water-ecosystem-5444202.html  ;  https://sciencing.com/water-enter-earths-atmosphere-5166455.html  (3) O’Connor, Jim E., Andrei M. Sarna-Wojcicki, Karl C. Wozniak, Danial J. Polette, and Robert J. Fleck. 2001. “Origin, Extent, and Thickness of Quaternary Geologic Units in the Willamette Valley, Oregon.” 1620. Professional Paper. U.S. Geological Survey.  https://doi.org/10.3133/pp1620 . (4)  https://english.elpais.com/science-tech/2023-01-03/we-are-half-human-half-bacteria-what-the-microbes-in-our-bodies-can-do-for-us.html  (5)  https://www.mayoclinichealthsystem.org/hometown-health/speaking-of-health/water-essential-to-your-body  (6)  https://sitn.hms.harvard.edu/uncategorized/2019/biological-roles-of-water-why-is-water-necessary-for-life/  (7)  https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/origin-of-oxygen-in-atmosphere/  (8) https://www.oregon.gov/oha/ph/HealthyEnvironments/Recreation/HarmfulAlgaeBlooms/Pages/Blue-GreenAlgaeAdvisories.aspx  (9)  https://www.theintertwine.org/outside-voice/reimagining-ross-island  (10) Kimmerer, Robin Wall. 2015. Braiding Sweetgrass. Minneapolis, MN: Milkweed Editions.