HMEI to Open Environmental Exhibition by Artist Maya Lin
This month, High Meadows Environmental Institute will open the inaugural exhibition in our new Environmental Gallery in Briger Hall with an installation of artist Maya Lin’s What Is Missing?
Lin’s memorial to the planet uses immersive, science-based artworks to raise awareness about the present sixth mass extinction, emphasizing that, through conservation and habitat restoration, we can both reduce carbon emissions and protect biodiversity. The exhibition examines abundance, loss, extinction, recovery and how resilient the natural world can be – if we choose to protect it.
Lin interprets nature through science and culture, creating works that have had a profound impact on how we relate to the natural world. From her first work, the Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial, she has gone on to a highly acclaimed career in art and architecture, while remaining committed to ‘memory works’ that focus on critical issues of our time. Lin calls What Is Missing? the fifth and final of her memorials, one that examines biodiversity loss and climate change, but also hope and action.
“Nature is incredibly resilient,” says Lin, “and it will come back if we give it a chance.”
Co-sponsored by the Princeton Humanities Initiative, the exhibition What Is Missing? What If? will consist of three parts: life-sized video of endangered species in the Briger Hall atrium; posters, recently installed at the United Nations, that pose thought-provoking questions; and an interactive display and learning lab that will evolve over the year in collaboration with faculty, researchers, students and community members. The exhibition will engage people across campus and beyond through research, coursework, internships, and public outreach.
HMEI will launch the exhibition on Tuesday, September 22 with an opening event and artist talk. The program will begin at 4:30 p.m. in the Briger Hall Auditorium with Lin on stage and in conversation with David Wilcove, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology, public affairs and HMEI, moderated by Rachael DeLue, professor of art history and Director of the Princeton Humanities Initiative – followed by an exhibition opening and reception. This event will be free and open to the public; we invite guests to register here.
What Is Missing? What If? is presented in partnership with the Princeton Humanities Initiative, with additional support from partners across campus, including the School of Architecture, the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, the School of Engineering and Applied Science and the Department of Geosciences.