By Jessi Cross

On exhibit through August 31st.

Listen to Jessi discuss Flow of Wildlife with host Matthew Chase-Daniel on the “Coffee and Culture” podcast.

The myths contained in Jessi Cross’ maternal ancestors – from Catholic saints to Greek myths to the cult of Isis – are increasingly central to her work, including  Flow of Wildlife, a large-scale mural on exhibit in the park’s Children’s Play Area.

“I increasingly see these myths as lifelines back into the earth and our history as kin of the plants and animals around us,” said Cross.  “I’m now seeking to convey this in my artwork by centering the wildlife present around me in the Southwest.”

Created with original woodcut prints of local wildlife – including the roadrunner, bobcat, Cooper’s hawk, and cutthroat trout – Flow of Wildlife presents a new, multi-layered mythology involving local bodies of water, flora, fauna, and landscape.  The prints are wheat pasted to the cement walls in a way that portrays them as moving like a river of creatures through the space.

“The vision behind this phase is to enter the community in a public art capacity, bringing reminders of the more-than-human life that, like our bodies, carries both the water of our ecosystem and knowledge of place,” continued Cross.  “The wild fauna engage with us both as companions and teachers, rather than just as subjects to be depicted.”

Flow of Wildlife is the third in a multi-phased project, “Water Mythology in the Contemporary Southwest”, in which Cross explores the complex relationships that occur with and around water in the Southwest, with a focus on New Mexico rivers, streams, and marshlands.

Flow of Wildlife is supported in part by the City of Santa Fe’s Arts & Culture Commission.

Images courtesy of the Railyard Park Conservancy and Byron Flesher