GULLY EROSION PROJECTS
“Terragraphic Shift” – gully erosion solo installation, Reservoir Hill open space, Novato, California
2021 | ceramic, glaze, steel, wood, Velcro | variable 5” x 134’
This pop-up installation, Terragraphic Shift, was installed on Reservoir Hill public open space adjacent to Hamilton Parkway, across the street from the Marin Museum of Contemporary Art in Novato, California. Terragraphic Shift is made of 72 handmade glazed ceramic tiles supported off the ground by small steel legs. The tiles resemble a subterranean stream forming a meandering line descending the hill into the gully below. The blue and white alternating stripes represent periods of rainy seasons vs. annual severe drought conditions. This project is designed to function as a temporary installation anywhere from a few hours to several weeks. It continues to be activated and documented in different regions where gullies have formed.
This environmental art sculpture installation aims to call attention to soil erosion occurring on natural watersheds that have been altered by human activities, such as land development and road building.
On the sloping hill where the work was installed, the soils are rapidly eroding, aided by excess surface runoff that happens when rainfall exceeds the altered hillside’s ability to absorb and disperse the water naturally. When the road was built, the hillside watershed was excavated bare, and the diverted runoff developed Gully Erosion in well-defined channels. In a single rainfall, top soils, clays, and other debris are carried into the storm drains, leading to and contaminating the nearby creeks, streams, and estuaries.
