Mound City, 2016, archival photographs, gold leaf, silver leaf, and copper leaf, 32”x22’
This work utilizes the first aerial photographs taken of the Mississippi River Basin, East St. Louis and Cahokia. The Cahokia Mounds are remnants from the pre-Columbian Mississippian city, now seen in an already shifted agricultural and urban landscape. St. Louis itself was referred to as Mound City before the hundreds of mounds that scattered the Mississippi River Basin were razed during the industrialization of the city. In this work, archival images are digitally layered. Other symbolic imagery is gilded on the surface of the photographic print in gold, silver, and copper leaf, teasing out other narratives of this geographic location. This work suggests viewing place much like viewing a river over time: observing the meandering lines left scarred on the earth. The narratives are formed by observing and interpreting artifacts, geological surveys, and archival photographs.
