In 1871, the geologist Ferdinand Vandeveer Hayden led a survey through current day Utah and Wyoming, mapping the territory that would eventually become Yellowstone National Park and other public land sites. The expedition team included cartographers, botanists, meteorologists, hunters, wagon drivers, and the photographer William Henry Jackson.
Over 150 years later, collaborator Katie Hargrave and I began an expedition to find the exact location of one of the spots documented by Jackson. On the border of Utah and Wyoming, the site, which is now in the Flaming Gorge National Recreation Center, was difficult to find. It took multiple trips and many days of traipsing through the altered landscape to find the exact spot where William Henry Jackson stood.
This installation documents our search and, through a two-channel video, presents our own struggles to locate ourselves within a landscape alongside clips from the reality television show "Alone". On the TV show, contestants must find water, a good place to make camp, and food. While struggling to survive on their own, the contestants often clutch a photo of their loved ones for inspiration to keep going. We were guided by our print out of Jackson's image.
Over 150 years later, collaborator Katie Hargrave and I began an expedition to find the exact location of one of the spots documented by Jackson. On the border of Utah and Wyoming, the site, which is now in the Flaming Gorge National Recreation Center, was difficult to find. It took multiple trips and many days of traipsing through the altered landscape to find the exact spot where William Henry Jackson stood.
This installation documents our search and, through a two-channel video, presents our own struggles to locate ourselves within a landscape alongside clips from the reality television show "Alone". On the TV show, contestants must find water, a good place to make camp, and food. While struggling to survive on their own, the contestants often clutch a photo of their loved ones for inspiration to keep going. We were guided by our print out of Jackson's image.
Installation view of "Bad Outdoorsmen (Jackson's West)"
The installation includes the two-channel video as well as a textile work. Taking Jackson's original photograph, we printed the image across thousands of laser cut silk leaves sewn onto a banner.
This installation debuted at the University of Wyoming Art Museum in 2025 in the exhibition "Katie Hargrave and Meredith Laura Lynn", part of the Sympoiesis: Co-Creating a Sense of Space series.