Pequannock River Spillway

Pequannock River Spillway

"Pequannock River Spillway" (2011)

Special Thanks: Morris Canal Company, Erie Lackawanna Railroad, and numerous early Dutch farmers

Description: Thousands of acres of dense, verdant wetlands channelized into slow moving rivers to drain land for farming.

Artist Statement

"Pequannock River Spillway" is an exhibit that seeks to explore the concept of the Garden State and the reality of the heavily reengineered natural landscape that epitomizes the Anthropocene. Through a series of photographs of the Pequannock River Spillway, the exhibit aims to challenge the notion of New Jersey as a natural paradise and to highlight the ecological impact of human development in the state.

In New Jersey, rivers are a mere 100 years old, the results of mud flats, streams, and wetlands drained and channelized by early settlers with wild abandon in a time before records to create fields for cultivation and pastures for animals. We have built our communities deep in river floodplains, and yet we ignore the risk of flooding and attribute it to acts of God. We admire the natural beauty of deep ponds and verdant pools, but these are in fact remnants of yesteryear's watermill-driven industrialization.

The exhibit also explores the impact of habitat loss and environmental damage that occurred during the early settlement of the area, and how it has influenced the bird and wildlife species present in New Jersey today. The slow, majestic rivers that were created through the construction of spillways on the Pequannock and Ramapo Rivers in the 18th and 19th centuries have drastically altered the landscape, and without them, we would have naught but fast, shallow creeks and acres of swamp.

Through "Pequannock River Spillway," I hope to inspire a deeper understanding of the impact of human activity on the natural world and to encourage a more conscious approach to our relationship with the environment.  Viewers are invited to reflect on the complex relationship between human development and the natural world, and how it has shaped our perceptions of the state of New Jersey.