Chapter 16: Lifeline, A Water Storytelling Project

Eridanus: The River Constellation

Cosmos, detail. 2024, Water, organic indigo, natural color, kaolin clay, copper oxide, homemade soy milk, and vinegar on found printed map of Alaska mounted on linen. 22.5 x 40.5 x 0.25 in

Yesterday I rowed in the Hudson River with my teammates just after dawn. The fog wisps rose off of the water giving way to sparkling constellations glinting on rippling waves. What a perfect sendoff as I get ready to fly to Turin, Italy this evening to install and present Eridanus: The River Constellation at Mazzoleni, my largest gallery exhibition to date, years in the making. This exhibition connects the cosmos and the waterways and traces the arc of my entire artistic oeuvre, inviting explorations of perspectives, mapping, water storytelling, constellations and spirals of past, present and future.

For more information about the show and a sneak peek of some more images, click here.

While in that process, I started writing this substack newsletter. I was looking for a way to share more of my research, development, explorations and processes as I make these works. The whole experience has been transformative in ways I hadn’t imagined. The work is better for this sharing. You have followed along and/or generously supported this endeavor and I am very grateful. And my warm thanks to Tracy K. Smith, Sundar Raman and David Ross for their encouragement and guidance.

As I travel from the Hudson River to the Po River, to Eridanus: the River Constellation, I will continue to collect water stories and I can’t wait to share them with you soon.

Ciao, grazie e a presto!

MM

Cosmic Ocean, detail. 2024, Water, organic indigo, chlorophyllin, Kaolin clay, Sumi ink, homemade soy milk, vinegar and copper oxide found printed map mounted on linen 10 x 13 in.