Dana Henry Martin

Central State Griffin Memorial Hospital

  • Contaminated

    Many of the soils I collect for dif/Fused Ancestry will be contaminated in one way or another. That’s an environmental… Read more.

    Dana Henry Martin
    1–2 minutes

  • The Architecture of Mental Illness

    Mental illness has an architecture. That’s part of the story of asylums and treatment in this country. Central State Griffin… Read more.

    Dana Henry Martin
    1–2 minutes

  • Hope Hall

    Now, Hope Hall is an empty and quiet place, one where footsteps echo down tunneling hallways. Bob McDonald, who once… Read more.

    Dana Henry Martin
    1–2 minutes

  • ‘Socially Dead’ Others

    Disability researcher Shuko Tamao on using photos of patients in an attempt to bring about reform in postwar asylums in… Read more.

    Dana Henry Martin
    1–2 minutes

  • Pinfeathers

    There are some things you can’t show, things you can’t share once you’ve seen them, so you turn them into… Read more.

    Dana Henry Martin
    2–3 minutes

  • The Oklahoma History Most Oklahomans Never Learned

    On the desegregation of American psychiatric institutions and structural racism in American psychiatry. Link in comments. — Oklahoma,1964: Taft State… Read more.

    Dana Henry Martin
    1–2 minutes

  • Alliums

    I booked my accommodations in my hometown, where I’m traveling to document and research Griffin Memorial Hospital, the psychiatric hospital… Read more.

    Dana Henry Martin
    2–3 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.