Dana Henry Martin
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These are photos of the sculpture at Glore Psychiatric Museum in St. Joseph, Missouri, that I incorporated into a poem… Read more.
1–2 minutes -
“Nothing about us without us.” That’s a guiding principle in the disability-rights movement. It applies to the mental-health justice and… Read more.
5–8 minutes -
From Kumataro Ito’s Illustrations of Nudibranchs from the USS Albatross’ Philippine Expedition (ca. 1908). What’s your vibe? Which nudibranch are… Read more.
1–2 minutes -
My father had a tiger’s eye bolo that I loved. I wore it in grade school when we reenacted the… Read more.
2–3 minutes -
I dreamed I invented the perfect body-positive, sex-positive sex toy that was also an actual toy for those who, like… Read more.
1–2 minutes -
I dreamed my dream turned into a body and crawled out of my body so it could suffocate me. I… Read more.
1–2 minutes -
In 2014, I wrote a piece titled “44 Signs of Immunotypical Privilege” shortly after my diagnosis with common variable immunodeficiency.… Read more.
6–9 minutes -
Given that Fox News host Brian Kilmeade just called for people who are unhoused or have mental-health diagnostic labels to… Read more.
1–2 minutes -
Given that Fox News host Brian Kilmeade just called for people who are unhoused or have mental-health diagnostic labels to… Read more.
1–2 minutes -
In a world of ribosomes (poets) crowding the nucleus (poetry establishment), live reeflike as the smooth endoplasmic recticulum on the… Read more.
1–2 minutes
PROCESS
- Map and Research: Investigate the historical, geological, and ecological context of each collection site or reverse the direction, mapping sites based on ancestral and historical narratives.
- Forage: Gather natural materials ethically, respectfully, and with permission.
- Transform: Process foraged materials into custom mediums and physical resources for art-making.
- Weave: Track the stories held within the land, braiding personal, ancestral, and ecological histories.
- Create: Generate studies and finished artwork informed by the sites and physically composed of the materials collected.
- Limits: Not all sites will be safe or accessible, which means some spaces cannot be entered, and some stories will remain incomplete. An empty container can signify these omissions.
purpose
ethics
Responsible Exploration: Committing to mindful presence, permission-based foraging, and minimal-impact exploration on every site.
Meaning
Embodied Storytelling: Engaging in sensory, place-based creation that connects the maker and viewer to the specific location and to the physical earth.
Reclamation: Unearthing and honoring lost, fractured, or overlooked histories embedded in the landscape.
Material Transformation: Celebrating the alchemy of turning raw, gathered earth into tangible, expressive art.
community
Public Education: Sharing the ecological and historical narratives of the sites to foster a deeper collective awareness.
Active Participation: Creating opportunities for community participation, engagement, and shared connection through the work.
Dana Henry Martin 