MOVING LANDSCAPE (2020)

Wood, plywood, foam, plastic, model trains, paint, branches, dirt, other natural and recycled materials.
21-foot train track with 16 train cars

(Installation: Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, North Adams, Massachusetts)

Moving Landscape I features a series of miniature landscapes on model railroad cars — depicting tundra, wetlands, forest, desert, etc. The train cars revolve in a circular loop through the entry wall of the exhibition and into the gallery behind it. These landscapes are in perpetual motion, akin to a snake chasing its own tail. With this gesture, De St. Croix reminds us that holding onto these ever-changing landscapes, despite our human desire, will always be just out of our grasp. Moving Landscape I is based on research from a 4,000 mile research trip throughout the western and select southern states, and in the High Arctics of Utqiaġvik, Alaska and Svalbard, Norway. The research spanned landscapes from glaciers to deserts and high mountains to below sea level as well as a separate witness of the aftermath from the wildfires in Joshua Tree and national park forests throughout California.

Drawings and photographic documentation in support of the project can be viewed in the respective sections.