Watermarks/Shorelines
Date: 2013
16×20 inches
Collage on Paper
The Long Island Chapter of The Nature Conservancy is actively addressing the alarming changes to the region’s shorelines in the wake of Superstorm Sandy—a traumatic event that was a wakeup call to anyone who still doubts that extreme weather is part of our future—and our present! The seemingly fixed borders between land and sea, land and bays, and even land and ponds have proven malleable and mutable.
Sited on the long brick wall and curbside land of TNC’s East Hampton headquarters, this installation addresses the two equally doomed strategies for arresting coastal erosion:
- The brick wall stands for the “hard” solution of erecting rigid seawalls, barriers that eventually erode beaches altogether.
- The sand dunes and twisted and broken sand fence represent the “soft” solution of repeatedly replenishing the dunes, buying time at great effort and cost.
