The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum

Exhibited in Twenty Six Contemporary Women Artists, Swamp consisted of a large fiberglass box containing earth, bog plants, and water. The ecosystem required constant maintenance to replenish the water and monitor the growth of both flora and fauna. Groundbreaking for its time, it was nevertheless in step with the desire by many artists to bring nature and the environment into the realm of art. Today, museum protocols prohibit growing algae or other bacteria in a climate-controlled gallery. These archival photographs give a sense of Audrey Hemenway’s original installation.