Imago, originating from New Latin imāgō, means "representation, semblance, image". Imago has an entomological meaning: the final developmental stage of an insect after metamorphosis, typically its winged state. There are several usages of imago in psychoanalytic theory as well. They intersect in that the imago is never actually equal to the thing it means to imitate. There is always distortion, fragmentation, distance. Much like a Victorian Salmon fly, intricate and brightly colored Victorian-era fly fishing patterns popular among the British aristocracy, which can imitate winged insects in aspects of color and movement but remains eerily distant from the original referenced form.
Human systems continue to damage ecologies and erase the cultures that depend on them. Fly patterns, imitating insects or baitfish specific to an ecology and composed of feathers and fur from native or naturalized species, could serve as an archive of lost species. No matter how beautifully a fly is crafted, no imitation can replace what is gone. It will always be an imago, an echo, a container for what once was.
Damming, filling, deforestation, overfishing, the introduction of invasive species, ignoring indigenous hunting and fishing restrictions, agriculture and city runoff, and the dumping of massive amounts of industrial waste by Honeywell Inc, formerly Allied Chemical caused great species decline in the Onondaga Watershed beginning in the mid 17th century. Through the design of Victorian salmon flies, Imago River gives form to native plants and animals that have been dispossessed from the Onondaga Lake watershed. This is a living, changing archive that will reflect current Onondaga Lake watershed restoration efforts that aid in the return of native plants and animals, including the once plentiful Atlantic salmon, to these waters.
Human systems continue to damage ecologies and erase the cultures that depend on them. Fly patterns, imitating insects or baitfish specific to an ecology and composed of feathers and fur from native or naturalized species, could serve as an archive of lost species. No matter how beautifully a fly is crafted, no imitation can replace what is gone. It will always be an imago, an echo, a container for what once was.
Damming, filling, deforestation, overfishing, the introduction of invasive species, ignoring indigenous hunting and fishing restrictions, agriculture and city runoff, and the dumping of massive amounts of industrial waste by Honeywell Inc, formerly Allied Chemical caused great species decline in the Onondaga Watershed beginning in the mid 17th century. Through the design of Victorian salmon flies, Imago River gives form to native plants and animals that have been dispossessed from the Onondaga Lake watershed. This is a living, changing archive that will reflect current Onondaga Lake watershed restoration efforts that aid in the return of native plants and animals, including the once plentiful Atlantic salmon, to these waters.
Digital booklet coming soon...