The piece Prairie Acoustics emerged from embodied study, wandering, listening, and field recording of tallgrass prairie ecosystems. Tallgrass prairies were widespread throughout the central plains of North America before colonization and industrialized agriculture, where now only small islands of remnant ecosystems - protected by the difficult to farm geology of flint rocks - still thrive. As part of her participation in the Tallgrass Artist Residency, Zeglin developed a zine- or artist-guided walk through the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve (near Manhattan, KS), which draws attention to different sounds and vibrant moments in the landscape.

The zine-walk asks participants to become attentive to the living, complex landscape around them and to imagine how sounds have shifted and changed over time as landscapes have changed. Dipping a toe into deep time and observational ecology, the zine deepens relationships between people and place and asks us to reflect on past, present, and future dynamics of our relationship with the landscape.

Artwork information: Zine; 1 hour zine- or artist-guided walk. Tallgrass Prairie Preserve, Chase County, KS. 2019.