Renewal Without End, Screenprint Pattern on Cotton Broadcloth, 20 yards spanning four oak trees, 2021
The hand-printed banner depicting endless hills, dams, and waterways refers to infrastructure in decline that shapes social and natural bodies. The search for a site within the Arboretum proved to be a pivotal moment for this project. By clothing the oaks standing along the edge of the Longnecker Garden, Renewal acknowledges the original and still intact inhabitants of this land, the Ho-Chunk Nation and other indigenous people of what is now known as Wisconsin. This is an ask to re-relate to one’s surroundings, to see beyond immediate utility, and respect as a guest ways of being in this shared world that are less destructive.
Sponsored by City of Madison Arts Commission, University of Wisconsin-Madison Arboretum
Madison, WI | www.derickwycherly.com