Reciprocity : we need each other
An installation at the Audubon Center at the Riverlands
To participate: Start at the porch at the visitor center. Find the box that says ‘Take One’. Use the map to find more flags and boxes to assemble your zine. Enjoy your walk.
You can download the zine here:
Reciprocity is a site-specific installation that centers the interconnectedness of humans and the natural environment. We are not separate from ‘nature,’ we are a part of it, and we depend on our relationships with the environment just as it depends on us. This installation features five flags mounted on driftwood found onsite. Each flag is next to a native plant that has a significant relationship with a native bird species that frequents the Riverlands sanctuary. The flags are—in the tradition of flag design—simple, using upcycled materials and fabrics dyed with natural dyes. Each design symbolizes and commemorates the reciprocal relationship between the native plant species, the native bird species, and humans. The flags are only one part of the installation—the symbolic nature of flag design often necessitates didactic explanation, so each flag is accompanied by a written guide that elucidates these relationships and includes plant identification information and drawings. These guides, free for the taking, are stored at the base of the flags in a wooden box, and when all five are collected by the viewer, they fit together to make a booklet.