The Natural History Museum of Utah is sited within a canyon of the Wasatch Mountains.

 

We were commissioned to create an artwork that would give form to the museum's mission, to celebrate the natural world and our place within it. 

 

 

The project makes use of mapping - both literally and conceptually - to contemplate how we perceive, depend upon and understand our environment.

 

 

It draws first upon what we can readily see in our immediate surroundings, and then makes visible the profound forces that underlie and shape that physical world. It begins outside the museum. Etched topographic lines map the site's original terrain - a snapshot in an ever - changing landscape.

 

 

Inside, a digital mural marks the entry and creates a visual montage of Utah's mountains and canyons. Shifts in scale and perspective allow us to find our place within, and reflect upon the land around us. Faceted planes made of reflective and non-reflective surfaces emphasize the shifting relationship between humankind and the natural world.