Placeholding closely inspects place on multiple levels, an inspection of both an ecological and social landscape. Charles Elton’s seminal work, The Ecology of Invasions by Animals and Plants popularized language for how we reference plants not endemic to a natural location, introducing terms like “invasive,” into ecological vernacular. While representing ecological meaning, "invasive" carries carries especial weight in today’s charged conversations about migration and immigration. This exhibition offers interpretations of three invasive plant species in Southeast Minnesota: garlic mustard, creeping bellflower, and bush honeysuckle.
This work also reflects social connection, collaborations reflecting on place with the time-based artist Jason Hallen, poetry installation with the poet Susan Jaret McKinstry and the artist Brett Olson, and a handmade paper installation with the statistician, Claire Kelling. Placeholding
was originally displayed at the Cyrus M. Running Gallery at Concordia College, in Moorhead, MN.