Wet/Land was created in response to the degradation of the Esopus creek, a main tributary of the Hudson River in New York State, which runs brown for months at a time due to muddy water released by NYCs Dept Of Environmental Protection. Eco-artist Christy Rupp notes that increased climate events have contributed to the dramatic change in the water ecosystem. “I felt the need to collect and document the mud coming down the creek as a result of NYC’s Department of Environmental Protection’s cost cutting decision not to separate the clean water bound for NYC faucets from that of downstream communities located below the Ashokan Reservoir.” Residents of affected communities have noted that as unstable weather events have increased, the water has steadily become more laden with silt, contributing to the deterioration of the Esopus as a healthy ecosystem, resulting in the disruption of breeding cycles and the loss of biodiversity .

Christy Rupp’s sculptures mimic the appearance and behavior of resident indicator species of filter feeding organisms like Mayflies, snails and leeches. She then submerges these artworks into the Esopus Creek for a few weeks to make manifest what is only guessed at: that the fine particles of mud are slowly suffocating vulnerable aquatic life.

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Kristen Garnier, an herbaria artist, exhibits native plants that present this ecological dilemma from a botanical point of view.