“Eci-Mahsosiyil/Fiddleheads,” by Shane Perley-Dutcher (Photo courtesy Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens)
Indigo Arts Alliance and Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens are proud to unveil two sculptures by Indigo Arts Alliance artists-in-residence Shane Perley-Dutcher and Anna Tsouhlarakis. The newly commissioned installations were presented as part of “Deconstructing the Boundaries: The Land Fights Back,” the second of a three-part collaborative multi-year series of public symposia.
Perley-Dutcher, a silversmith artist from Wolastoqey Neqotkuk (a New Brunswick First Nation), presents “Eci-Mahsosiyil/Fiddleheads” (2024), an interactive installation of two arched fiddlehead ferns made from braided and woven metal emulating traditional Wabanaki woven baskets, installed in the Arbor Garden.
The fiddleheads represent a vision of reciprocity, as Wolastoqey tradition dictates that an offering, such as tobacco or prayer, should be given to the fiddleheads before picking. Simultaneously, enough should be left for others, emphasizing the importance of sustaining the land for future generations.
Tsouhlarakis, an enrolled citizen of the Navajo Nation and of Creek and Greek descent, presents “The Native Guide Project: CMBG” (2024), four shell middens constructed from grass, oyster shells, and granite sourced from the surrounding region installed on Cleaver Lawn. The middens, grassy mounds replicating the archaic collections of food and cultural remnants left behind by indigenous people along the northeast coast, demonstrate a sustainable living practice and a reminder that these lands and shores have been continual gathering places for millennia.
The south-facing shell walls display messages to visitors, alluding to the ongoing need for reparative justice and challenging of systems that are currently in place today.
Both “Eci-Mahsosiyil/Fiddleheads” and “The Native Guide Project: CMBG” are installed in the Gardens to highlight indigenous traditions and knowledge and as a reminder of why BIPOC experiences must be centered in the fight for climate justice.
“The Native Guide Project: CMBG” will be on view until it naturally degrades, and “Eci-Mahsosiyil/Fiddleheads” will be installed permanently.
The Indigo Arts Alliance is a place where freedom of expression and personal transformation through creativity is encouraged. Indigo Arts Alliance embodies a Black-led, multiracial approach to the rich intersections of citizenship, community-building, and creativity. More than ever, the world needs people who can help imagine more compassionate, generous, and welcoming human societies. Indigo does that work.
At nearly 325 acres, Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens is the largest public garden in New England. With two miles of hiking trails, 19 acres of ornamental and themed gardens featuring native plants of Maine and those suited to northern coastal conditions, nearly a mile of saltwater frontage, a children’s garden, a sensory garden, and so much more, there’s something for everyone.
A true Maine experience, the Gardens is committed to connecting people to plants and nature, preserving the biodiversity of the Maine coast, and continuing to be a place accessible and welcoming to all. The mission of Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens is to inspire meaningful connections between people and nature and promote plant conservation through horticulture, education, and plant science.
For more information, go to mainegardens.org.
“The Native Guide Project: CMBG,” by Anna Tsouhlarakis (Photo courtesy Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens)
