Geoffrey Krawzyck's site-specific installation creates an interactive space that links the decline of Cahokian culture with the contemporary decay of urban areas in St. Louis. Commissioned for Laumeier's exhibition Mound City, the room-sized chamber is built from a mixture of new and donated reclaimed red brick from architectural ruins on St. Louis' North Side. Engravings on a number of the bricks come from community members expressing their thoughts and ideas about the challenges facing St. Louis. The remnants of modern economic and social policy are presented as echoing the decay of Cahokia 750 years ago. Through the construction of a deteriorated building, the work is intended to foster discussion about adaptation, governance, and progress. By combining symbols of the two historical situations with the voice of the contemporary community, Krawzyck seeks to create a meta-site encompassing both the physical and psychological marks left behind by societal change.
