Salish Wonder Room

black and white photo of a nest held up with twigs on a table

Salish Wonder Room was an evolving and changing collaborative project by Professor Camlin and Art & Ecology Practicum students as part of the Western Gallery exhibition, Modest Forms of Biocultural Hope, curated by Haftor Yngvasen. The project tracked students’ research and discoveries as they learned about organisms of the Salish Sea region and responded to scientific research, field study, indigenous practices, and contemporary art. In a critical rethinking of cabinets of curiosities, the project considered the ecotheologian Thomas Berry’s question: what if we understood the universe not as a collection of objects, but as a communion of subjects?

taxidermied birds in display cases: a large and small owl, osprey, and a duck
taxidermied birds in display cases: a swan, a heron, owl, osprey, kingfisher, and two ducks
a nest held up with twigs on a table
variety of sea life in a display case: starfish, sea urchins, oyster shells, sand dollars, coral, and some animal skulls
variety of sea life in a display case: animal skulls, sand dollars, lichen, anemone, starfish, sea urchin, and oyster shells
display case full of dead sea life. Above it is a shelf holding labeled jars and diagrams depicting species of plant life
Jars containing specimens in water, labeled: Kelp Greenling, Buffalo Sculpin, Prickly Sculpin
Jars containing specimens in water, labeled: Wolf Eel, and Echalon
a closed door in an empty room. On the wall next to it, the words Salish Wonder Room, and more text underneath that which is too small to read
Words on a wall read Salish Wonder Room: Can you find these specimens? Descriptions of 23 specimens follow.

View larger: Salish Wonder Room: Can you find these specimens?

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