Unseen/forgotten: Ode to the humble landscape | Invisible/olvidado: Oda al paisaje humilde is a continuation of the project A river of all ages that Paulina Velázquez Solís developed during the pandemic. She found herself in a new environment in Brooktondale NY, surrounded by a creek where the change of pace and isolation brought via COVID accentuated the sound perception of the river, and its presence as a neighbor and living entity.

This sonic connection was similar to her home in Costa Rica, which is also next to a river, making the sound experience of the river both grounding and nostalgic. This experience brought a new perspective not only in the sense of place through bodies of water but also in the creatures and plants that are particular to a place.

Unseen/forgotten: continues these observations focusing on plants of Central New York natural areas that present a post-industrial natural wonder – where many species prevail after the severe deforestation through the end of the 19th century and the start of the 1900’s 1 presenting through visuals, media performance and soundscapes, stories learned during the explorations of natural areas, and visits at the L. H. Bailey Hortorium Herbarium at Cornell University.

The narratives and images of two plants that are highlighted in this project are Micrantheumun micranthemoides, a semiaquatic plant that is extinct, and originally found near the mud plains by the Hudson River, that now can only be found in the archived specimens, and recent images of seeds from an electromagnetic microscope. The second plant, Calamagrostis perplexa, is an endemic grass in Tompkins County that according to the observations and analysis by botanist David Werier exists only in a specific area. This ancient plant has lived in the same location for hundreds of years bearing witness to the changes of the larger landscape.

Getting to know the landscapes where these, and other unassuming plants live or have existed, aims to re-direct our curiosity of discovery, wonder in natural spaces and our connection to the past and the future.

1 According to the Department of Environmental Conservation “by the 1880s, less than 25% of New York State remained forested” Department of Environmental Conservation, History Of State Forest Program, A History of Human Impact, last visited on July,5,2024 https://dec.ny.gov/nature/forests-trees/state-forests/program-history#:~:text=A%20History%20of%20Human%20Impact&text=By%20the%201880s%2C%20less%20than,of%20timber%20within%2050%20years.