Blane De St. Croix, How to Move a Landscape

Blane De St. Croix's work sits at a cross road - inspired by the long history of landscape painting as well as the land art of the 60s and 70. De St. Croix takes these dual approaches (the depiction of landscape in painting and the use of sculpture to highlight changes in the land) and deepens them by engaging with the ecology and the politics of place. By starting with intense research - site visits, interviews with local inhabitants and researchers, and consultations with scientists, journalists, and cultural historians - De St. Croix unpacks his subject collaboratively to create a more complete picture. The resulting artworks are not only visually seductive but tell stories in order to facilitate a greater understanding of the shared social, political, and environmental changes we face globally.How to Move a Landscape is De St. Croix largest and most ambitious exhibition to date and will open in MASS MoCA's 18,000 square foot first floor galleries in July 2020. The exhibition will include existing works alongside new monumental installations focusing on field research about the Earth's dissolving permafrost layer. Focused on the rapid changes in arctic climate and topography, De St. Croix's blend of science, data, sculpture, narrative, and technology will result in the design and creation of a soaring multistory sculpture of a Glacier alongside a research gallery featuring interviews with scientists and residents of the Arctic Region. These interviews address both the scientific data and transformation of residents' ancestral landscapes. The lushly illustrated book will showcase De St Croix's multi-faceted project with texts from scientists and researchers such as Julie Brigham-Grette, Vladimir Romanovsky, Patrick Megonigal and Craig Tweedie, alongside poems from Joy Harjo and Matthea Harvey, essays by Denise Markonish and Jeffrey Kastner, and an interview with Martha Scwendener.