Philadelphia
From a distance, Mary Mattingly’s floating installation WetLand could be a storm-lashed hovel or beach cottage fighting to remain above water. And that wouldn’t be far off—this “house under water” summons associations with Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy, as well as with homeowners struggling to keep their mortgages afloat. Mattingly was commissioned by the 2014 Philadelphia Fringe Festival to create a work “on the water to draw attention to the water,” and her ensuing collaboration with artists, engineers, students, and many local environmental organizations resulted in a project meant as much as a conversation starter as an art installation. Nestled in the boat basin on the Delaware River in front of the Independence Seaport Museum, which is located on Penn’s Landing, WetLand provides a striking contrast to the commercial and pleasure boats moored around it…see the entire review in the print version of April’s Sculpture magazine.
