Some of you may have found last month’s blog
in which I envisioned an exhibition of Eve’s Imprint a bit much. You’re
right, it is. Eve’s Imprint is the bigger story behind PILGRIMAGE Wonder Encounter Witness, my book
and traveling exhibition honoring villages around the world in which I have
lived and worked. Here's how I arrived at this overwhelming project.
The vision of Eve’s Imprint has inspired me
since the age of twenty-three when I inadvertently retraced my ancestral path
from North America back to Northern Europe, the Mediterranean, the Near East,
and all the way to our origins in Ethiopia. Traveling in six-seat prop planes I
traversed East, Central and West Africa. A plane engine’s failure prevented me
from reaching the ancient city of Timbuktu, but the second engine got me back
to Accra, Ghana to continue living the Eve’s Imprint story.
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| Rift Valley Origins, LiDoña Wagner acrylic, stones, and sand on board, 24” x 18” |
This past August I took a leap forward when I
began to visualize geographic segments for the painting series. As I tried to
imagine putting all of these geographic segments together, I recalled visiting
the Elora Caves in India. Niches had been carved into the walls of the cave and
each held a statue of Buddha: Buddha standing, sitting, lying down, speaking, praying, meditating, blessing, and laughing. These many variations of Buddha left me with the impression of one multifaceted Buddha. Similarly,
that is what I want this series of paintings to reflect, one multifaceted human
family descended from mitochondrial Eve. This is the origin of the twelve alcoves in
the Eve’s Imprint exhibition prototype.
Out of Eden Walk
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| Paul Salopek Walking in Ehtiopia by Paul Salopek |
Then last
December, a friend sent me an article about the Out of Eden walk by Pulitzer
Prize-winning journalist and National Geographic Fellow Paul Salopek. Salopek
is walking, retracing the global migration of our ancestors in a 21,000-mile,
seven-year odyssey that begins in Ethiopia and ends in Tierra del Fuego in Chile. For
the walk’s storytelling, please visit outofedenwalk.nationalgeographic.com.
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| From website of Out of Eden Walk |
At first it seemed outlandish for Salopek to
devote seven years of his life to walking our 70-50,000 year human migration journey. Then it
occurred to me that it will probably take me just as long, or longer, to
complete the paintings in Eve’s Imprint. What makes it possible for Salopek to
do his storytelling walk is that he has supporters and partners. Bingo! Suddenly it struck me
that perhaps I don’t have to do everything related to Eve’s Imprint by myself.
Perhaps there are others who would like to join me in this venture.
Can You Help Make Eve's Imprint Happen?
2018 is the target date for my completion of
artwork for the exhibition. Because
museums schedule 4-5 years out, the work of securing sites and lead sponsors
needs to begin now. Perhaps you can help lay the
groundwork for Eve’s Imprint by assisting with scheduling and handling exhibitions, fundraising, and managing finances.
As Eve’s
Imprint travels, Our Common Future alcove is reserved for depicting the
story of a site-specific sponsoring partner: a Native American, Latino, Asian
American, African American, Middle Eastern, or Indo-American group; an
environmental or sustainable community effort; an international agency or
voluntary organization. Do you have connections with possible sponsoring partners?
In the exhibition prototype, discovery corners have twelve panels
and surrounding space that can be devoted to the work of major contributing
partners. Perhaps you know of a foundation, agency, or sustainable energy
business that can underwrite production, promotion, shipping, and installation
costs?
