The sea is a confluence of energies, cycles, and ecologies continually in flux. These natural processes are inherently both powerful and sensitive to the compounding impacts of climate change. Beaches and bluffs eroding, tidal wetlands drowning, invasive crabs getting the upper hand–these are just a few examples of how the increasing pace and scale of environmental dynamism can tip systems and species past thresholds of tolerance.
This is also observable in the migration of driftwood, a ubiquitous presence on many Pacific Northwest shorelines. Driftwood plays a generative role in seaside ecosystems, serving as nutrient-rich habitats for a variety of organisms; providing cover for native fish, plants, and wildlife; and stabilizing coastal erosion, to name a few benefits. Increasing dynamism in storm surges and rising sea level can undermine these contributions, however, as well as create hazards on the open sea or mobilize logs as levers in the destruction of nearshore infrastructure. In fact, the skeleton of this installation was built from salvaged structural debris that washed up on the beach.
Fathom (A Drift Log) reflects this complex environmental dynamism. Literally, the installation is an intertidal field station monitoring the migration of drift logs on a pocket beach just a few miles from MoNA as the eagle flies. Figuratively, it is a wrack line produced by a curious imagination rooted in a relationship with a changing intertidal zone on Skagit Bay. Altogether, it represents an effort to understand our broader dilemma, explore adaptations, and consider tactics to mitigate further harm.
Statement by John Schmitz and Roger Fuller, Climate Scientist
