#43 • Vernal Bogren Swift

Part of NDMOA: 29th Annual Autumn Art Auction (live auction by AcrePro )

Starting at $1,500.00

Status: Available

Lot 43 Vernal Bogren Swift British Colombia, Canada Watermarked Alder, 2026 Natural (mangrove and red alder bark) and synthetic dye on cotton 30 x 30 inches $2,000 – 2,500 In an era overshadowed by climate anxiety, art often acts as a site of grief. However, in Watermarked Alder, art functions as a site of stubborn gratitude. Utilizing the wax-resist technique and bark pigments of traditional batik, the artist draws upon textile tradition, regional geography, and knowledge from deep ecological time to build the work. The conceptual anchor of the piece reaches back to the twelfth-century mystic and scientist Hidegard von Bingen. For her, life-force was a stubborn, active resistance against withering. In the flood-pronge landscape of the Red River Valley, the alder is a literal manifestation of this power. Posessing a prehistoric lineage that stretches back to the Cretaceous period, this tree is biologically engineered to withstand the seasonal floods. The artwork mirros this urvival through its physical creation. The cloth is immersed in cold-water soaks of alder and other tannins over several days and repeatedly allowed to oxidize and cure---the same behavior the trees use to protect themselves from rotting in stagnant water. As the cloth absorbs the tannins, the waxed areas crack, allowing pigment to seep through and create fractal patterns that mirror the winding paths of the Red River, its rooted banks, and the capillaries of the alder. The tannin in the batik cloth will continue to deepen and cure, a reminder that nature possesses an enduring blueprint for survival, thriving exactly where the water rises.