Andrea Carlson: The Waves May Break Here Still

There was a time when Chicago’s Magnificent Mile was underwater, a time before settlers had filled in the lake to make land for these buildings. There was a time further back when this land of the Anishinaabe (An-ish-in-aabe) people, including the Chicago area, was flooded by a great deluge. At that time, Earthdivers – specifically the muskrat – dove into the water to retrieve some mud to repair the earth. All things dredged may be temporary. It is possible and within imagination that the land in this place, the place of the Arts Club of Chicago, may once again be held by the original people or pulled back into the water.

Chosen as a must see in Artforum, The Waves May Break Here Still is a printed mural of a painting by the same title that celebrates the potential impermanence of the human built environment.  

Image Credit: The Waves May Break Here Still, 2022.  Photo: Michael Tropea