CULTIVATE is pleased to present DITCHIN’: Hay & High Ground a print and projection installation developed by artist and printmaker Heather McMordie and soil scientist and environmental historian Edward Landa. The project examines the long-term impacts (physical and cultural) of early 20th-century mosquito control ditches on the coastal wetlands of the Northeastern United States. Viewers are invited to physically and metaphorically step through miasmic layers of information in this multi-media installation of real and imagined landscapes.

Heather McMordie and Edward Landa have been collaboratively creating since Summer 2022. Their shared interest in salt marsh ecosystems has provided them with fertile ground for creative exploration.

This exhibition is made possible in part by a grant from the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts, through an appropriation by the Rhode Island General Assembly and a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.

About the Artists:

Heather McMordie is an artist, educator, and curator based in Providence, RI. Her work explores the complexities of soil science and environmental restoration through prints, puzzles, artist books, and interactive installations. She is especially interested in the ways in which experiences with art objects can mirror field research experiences and create opportunities for tacit learning. More information about Heather’s work can be found at www.heathermcmordie.com

Edward Landa is a soil scientist and Adjunct Professor, Department of Environmental Science and Technology at the University of Maryland. His research has explored the effects of contaminants in terrestrial and aquatic environments (from nuclear waste sites to mosquito breeding grounds), and the interface between soil science and the arts. He is currently focused on the complex history and impacts of ditching salt marshes for mosquito control. More information about Ed’s work can be found at https://agnr.umd.edu/about/directory/edward-landa

About CULTIVATE: Cultivate is an evolving collection of interdisciplinary artists, writers, and researchers driven by investigations of landscape, place, and the commons. Projects include experimental and practical art explorations that wrestle with the qualities, perceptions, and layers of experience that inform and expand notions of landscape. Ideas from a full spectrum of voices across generations are supported using sustainable tactics. From the hyper-local to the global, Cultivate reflects individual and collective curiosity, intention, imagining, and engagement with the phenomena of landscape.

Location: Shifting virtual and analog locations in watersheds around the globe with physical bases in the Washington, D.C. metro area, Montana, and Italy.

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Exhibition information

For information or images, please contact Susan Main at 301-943-4190 or [email protected].

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Add to Calendar 20240519 America/New_York 4218 Howard Road Kensington MD 20895 DITCHIN’: Hay & High Ground | A collaboration by Heather McMordie & Edward Landa