studio work > willamette river contours

willamette river contours
willamette river contours
polished aluminum composite, stainless steel
4'x45'
2022

The Willamette River is the primary feature of the Willamette Valley landscape and most, if not all, of the produce and goods offered at the Farmers' Market are produced within the Willamette River Basin. People have been dependent on the river for water, food, and more since humans settled in the region over 14,000 years ago, and it remains a source of dependence and change. As the river continually flows north the volume changes drastically between seasons and the course has altered over generations and centuries. It is always there, but never the same.

This artwork began as a drawing. Water from the Willamette River was mixed with pigments from crushed stones and earth sourced within the Willamette River basin. The drawing was expanded in scale and the course of the Willamette River was left flowing through the drawing from left to right. The design was translated into mirrored aluminum, a material that responds to light, movement, and change, similar to the river the artwork references and is created from.