Waterline

Featuring just a single work of art, Waterline is an immersive exhibition experience that reflects artist Marianne Nicolson’s Native American roots. In a darkened gallery, visitors will observe a light that moves slowly up and down within a cubed glass sculpture to reveal a dazzling panorama of shadows representing killer whales, wolves, thunderbirds, and other symbols.

Nicolson is a member of the Kwakwaka’wakw Nations of British Columbia, Canada. This Pacific Northwest Native American culture is renowned for its stunning artistic traditions, including massive totem poles, architectural sculpture, transformation masks, and sacred clan regalia. The work refers not only to sacred traditions, forms, and language, but to the contemporary problems of industrial encroachment, particularly onto sacred and life-sustaining waterways.

In conjunction with this exhibition, the Museum is partnering with the Cahaba River Society to engage visitors in one of Alabama’s most important waterways.