Epicenter 2004
Collaboration between Matthew Dehaemers and Karen McCoy
Temporary Installation—1,000 lbs. Of Mississippi River water cast into a dugout canoe, yellow corn, uprooted corn stocks.

Created for the National Bicentennial Commemoration of the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial. This project was sponsored by the Lewis & Clark Bicentennial ArtsPlan, funded by the National Endowment for the Arts in collaboration with the Missouri Arts Council. The program was administered by the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies and the New England Foundation for the Arts.This sculpture is dedicated to the American Indians, particularly the Shawnee and the Peoria, who made their homes in this region two hundred years ago, and before.  In their worldview, this place with its many river systems and natural abundance was a cultural center. Non-Indians may think of the movement associated with this region as being east west, but our continent’s first inhabitants consider that this place is an epicenter.  This was a great center from which culture has emanated since prehistory, a place with elaborate religious practices, extensive trade networks and immense earthworks. Epicenter was conceived and designed as a reflection on research and experiences visiting Shawnee, Peoria and other tribes.   Artists and community members in southern Illinois also assisted in the project. The twelve foot long dugout canoe is made of frozen river water and holding a cargo of corn.  The canoe rests on an agitated surface of uprooted corn stalks.  During the Signature Event the canoe will slowly melt, evaporate and disappear much like the historic tribes of American Indians have done.  It will deposit a mound of corn atop the field of uprooted corn stalks. The stalks speak of the continual upheaval of tribal families as they were pushed out of their homelands two hundred years ago.  Corn is a metaphoric material that conveys growth, vitality and sustenance, and has a ceremonial significance. The artists have selected these materials and processes for their narrative, metaphoric and aesthetic potential.  The sculpture is dedicated to a future that honors the increasing vitality of the culture and language of the Shawnee, Peoria and other American Indian nations, and to establishing better relationships among all peoples and between human beings and the natural environment we all share.