Courtney M. Leonard

This work is made of four ceramic pieces that reference traps for catching fish and other marine animals. Courtney M. Leonard is an installation and multimedia artist of the Shinnecock Indian Nation. Shinnecock means “people of the shore,” and the tribe’s traditional homelands are located on the eastern edge of Long Island. Leonard began the BREACH series in 2014 as an exploration of environmentalism, water, whales, and the Shinnecock homelands. She was inspired to examine these themes after a 60-foot-long finback whale washed ashore on Southampton beach in 2005 and US government officials did not allow the Shinnecock tribe to access the whale for traditional ceremonies.

-Shándíín Brown, Henry Luce Curatorial Fellow for Native American Art