Cannupa Hanska Luger's 'Dripping Earth' Merges Ancestral Memory with Future Visions

2 hours ago7 min read

At the Joslyn Art Museum, Cannupa Hanska Luger's solo exhibition, 'Dripping Earth,' transforms the gallery into a temporal crossroads. The artist, of Mandan, Hidatsa, Arikara, and Lakota descent, stages a powerful dialogue where ancestral knowledge and speculative futures converge.This is not a passive collection of objects but an active, living production that challenges the colonial foundations of museum display. Luger’s dynamic sculptures and installations reject the notion of Indigenous culture as a relic; instead, they pulse with the vitality of continuous storytelling, weaving together themes of land, memory, and cultural resilience.The exhibition's title suggests a world in constant flux—an earth that is fluid, evolving, and perpetually in a state of becoming, much like the clay and repurposed materials that form his work. His practice is a definitive act of 'future-facing survivance,' creating what he describes as 'speculative artifacts.' These pieces feel both ancient and forward-looking, compelling viewers to contemplate what will endure and what new cultural forms will arise from our current moment. In one series, traditional pottery forms are re-envisioned with post-industrial materials, creating vessels that speak to both heritage and contemporary displacement.The emotional resonance is profound, leaving visitors suspended between a sense of loss and a potent, generative hope. For those who appreciate the transformative power of the performing arts, Luger’s exhibition operates with similar force—it redefines the space, engages the viewer as a participant, and leaves a lasting impression, demonstrating that the most essential art does not merely observe existence but actively shapes its ongoing narrative.

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#Cannupa Hanska Luger

#Dripping Earth

#Joslyn Art Museum

#contemporary art

#Indigenous art

#speculative future

#sculpture

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