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Description: Renewal incorporates a number of species indigenous to pre-settlement prairies, including anemone, thimbleweed, arrowhead, bergamot, bluestem grass, climbing prairie rose, cone flower, cordgrass, heliotrope, lobelia, cardinal flower, sunflower, sweet pea, trout lily, and violet missouriensis. Here, Steinkamp imagines a burning prairie, a phenomenon that occurs sporadically in nature as well as a practice used for thousands of years by Indigenous peoples. Prairie burning is carried out periodically in order to maintain the health and integrity of the prairie landscape, prohibiting the growth of trees and invasive species and returning nutrients to the soil. As fire whips through Steinkamp's pre-colonial prairie, her animated butterflies float gently across the landscape, remaining unharmed. Here, an apparent act of destruction paradoxically prompts growth and renewal.
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