Flow Trap WD Study LG1 from the installation BREACH/Logbook20:NEBULOUS
Courtney M. Leonard, Shinnecock / American, born 1980
2019
Ceramic, glaze
Height: 13 in. (33 cm)
Width: 5 in. (12.7 cm)
Depth: 7 in. (17.8 cm)
Overall: 15 × 15 × 5 1/2 in. (38.1 × 38.1 × 14 cm)
Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth: Commissioned by the Hood Museum of Art; Purchased through the Virginia and Preston T. Kelsey 1958 Fund, the William S. Rubin Fund, the Alvin and Mary Bert Gutman 1940 Acquisition Fund, the Kira Fournier and Benjamin Schore Contemporary Sculpture Fund, and the Phyllis and Bertram Geller 1937 Memorial Fund
BREACH: LOGBOOK 2020©
2019.114.13
Geography
Place Made: United States, North America
Period
21st century
Object Name
Sculpture
Research Area
Native American
Native American: Woodlands
Sculpture
On view
Label
Rooted in her connection to and knowledge of the sea, Courtney M. Leonard compels us to interrogate our own relationships to water. BREACH | Logbook 20: NEBULOUS invites us into a dialogue about the violence we perpetuate against our environments—and against the acquatic ecosystem in particular. This site-specific installation explores the impact of "ghost fishing," which occurs when castaway aquaculture traps and nets are left in open waters. They continue fishing aquatic species in a ghost-like fashion, with ropes and cords that often fatally entangle whales, seals, and other species.
"The Shinnecock reservation is located on the east end of Long Island, with the Hamptons bordering our territory. As a small, coastal Indigenous community that was not relocated from our homelands, we are dealing with major environmental concerns such as rising waters, coastal erosion, toxic shellfish warnings, nitrogen run-off from industrial agriculture and sewage, and violations of our fishing rights, water rights, and land rights as cultural stewards . . . our survival was and continues to be dependent on maintaining our stewardship of the land and waters for all our relations." —Courtney Leonard
From the 2021 exhibition Form & Relation: Contemporary Native Ceramics, curated by Jami C. Powell, Curator of Indigenous Art and Morgan E. Freeman, DAMLI Native American Art Fellow
|This ceramic net by contemporary Shinnecock artist Courtney Leonard reflects on the impact of “ghost fishing,” which occurs when castaway aquaculture traps are left in open waters. Abandoned by commercial fishing companies, these traps continue fishing aquatic species in a ghost-like fashion, with ropes and cords that often fatally entangle whales, seals, and other species.
Leonard states how “as a small, coastal Indigenous community that was not relocated from our homelands, we are dealing with major environmental concerns such as rising waters, coastal erosion, toxic shellfish warnings, nitrogen run-off from industrial agricultural sewage, and violations of our fishing rights, water rights, and land rights as cultural stewards . . . our survival was and continues to be dependent on maintaining our stewardship of the land and waters for all our relations.” Hanover’s nearby Connecticut River empties into Long Island Sound, which is near the Shinnecock Reservation.
From the 2023 exhibition Liquidity: Art, Commodities, and Water, curated by Michael Hartman, Jonathan Little Cohen Associate Curator of American Art
Course History
NAS 18.01/ENVS 18.01, Indigenous Environmental Studies, Nicholas Reo, Fall 2020
NAS 81.04/ENVS 85.01, Land, Love, and Kinship, Fall 2020
ANTH 11/NAS 11, Ancient Native Americans, Madeleine McLeester, Fall 2020
PORT 8, Brazilian Portraits, Carlos Cortez Minchillo, Winter 2021
LACS 22.11, Latinx Intergenerational Literature, Marcela di Blasi, Spring 2021
ANTH 3.01, Introduction to Cultural Anthropology, Sienna Craig, Winter 2022
First Year Student Enrichment Program - Cultures, Identities and Belongings, Francine A'Ness, Summer 2023
Anthropology 55.01, Anthropology of Global Health, Anne Sosin, Fall 2023
Anthropology 55.01, Anthropology of Global Health, Anne Sosin, Fall 2023
Art History 40.01, American Art and Identity, Mary Coffey, Fall 2023
Creative Writing 10.02, Writing and Reading Fiction, Katherine Crouch, Fall 2023
Geography 11.01, Qualitative Methods, Emma Colven, Fall 2023
Geography 2.01, Introduction to Human Geography, Coleen Fox, Fall 2023
Geography 31.01, Postcolonial Geographies, Erin Collins, Fall 2023
English 30.01, African and African American Studies 34.01, Early Black American LIterature, Michael Chaney, Winter 2024
Writing 5.06, Image and Text, Becky Clark, Winter 2024
Writing 5.07, Image and Text, Becky Clark, Winter 2024
Exhibition History
Form & Relation: Contemporary Native Ceramics, Citrin Family, Engles Family, and Harteveldt Family Galleries, and Luise and Morton Kaish Gallery Stair, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth, Hanover, New Hampshire, January 6, 2021–July 23, 2022.
Liquidity: Art, Commodities, and Water, Israel Sack Gallery and the Rush Family Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, July 29, 2023-November 24, 2024.
This record is part of an active database that includes information from historic documentation that may not have been recently reviewed. Information may be inaccurate or incomplete. We also acknowledge some language and imagery may be offensive, violent, or discriminatory. These records reflect the institution’s history or the views of artists or scholars, past and present. Our collections research is ongoing.
We welcome questions, feedback, and suggestions for improvement. Please contact us at: Hood.Collections@dartmouth.edu