Blowing in the Wind–2021

Linda and Gene Farley Center for Peace, Justice & Sustainability

Angela Johnson/ Justin Bitner

When coming up with what our installation would be – we walked the pathways at the Farley Center for ideas and inspiration. We also spent time thinking about life cycles, nature's seasons, life seasons, passage of time and the wind, which is always weaving and moving through all of these. We wanted our piece to have a sense of movement and to show a passage of time.

Our installation Blowing in the Wind is made up of 18, nine foot long, cyanotype cotton panels that hang from a large tree where the individual pieces blow and move individually and collectively with the wind. Cyanotypes are a camera-less contact photo printing process that was discovered in the mid-1800’s. An image or objects are laid on top of pre-treated fabric or paper and glass is pressed down on top creating a contact print, and it is exposed by the sun. We collected a variety of natural materials sourced from the Farley Center including, flowers, leaves, branches to create the images on the fabric.

Keeping in mind the title of the exhibition Rooted in the Land and using natural materials from the land we think of our panels and installation as a blueprint (literally and figuratively). With the panels blowing in the wind and the non-permanence of everything, it is a reminder that we all go through life cycles.