DUSTY PATCHES
NEWTOK [Iridescent Green Vinyl] LP

Limited Edition Iridescent Sea Green Vinyl

Newtok is a remote Alaska Native village situated on the Ningliq River, near the west coast of Alaska. Although a very remote and quiet place, Newtok has come face-to-face with climate change. Due to a combination of thawing permafrost, low levels of sea ice, and strong storms, the coastal land of Newtok is eroding dramatically. The village is currently in the process of relocating to a new site called Mertarvik, which will be safer from this climate change-caused erosion.

In 2016, Chicago visual artist Jennifer Cronin embarked on a trip to Newtok to document this changing environment. Upon returning, she spent the next several years developing a series of paintings and screen prints titled Seen and Unseen that captured this eroding landscape. Known for her large-scale realistic paintings, Cronin brought an eye for detail to her renderings of Newtok. Meticulously painted landscapes unravel as they disappear into a wispy haze of white paint. “These paintings were my attempt to capture this disappearing landscape, and give viewers a space to connect with this landscape and contemplate its loss,” says Cronin. In 2019, Cronin and musical Artist Patrick Mitchell (a/k/a Dusty Patches) began discussing the project after Cronin asked him to perform at the Gallery opening for the series. As a result, Mitchell created this album, Newtok— inspired by Cronin’s Seen and Unseen series and the story of Newtok, Alaska.

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UPC: 617201805176
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