AHA!

Westport, Massachusetts, natives Merri Cyr and Chief Nij-Pajikwat-Mo`z (Chief Two Running Elk), also known as Robert Cox, are collaborating on a groundbreaking project: the first sculptural representation of an Eastern Woodlands Indian in Westport, to be installed at Wainer Woods Farm.

This exhibition offers a preview of the forthcoming monument and a behind-the-scenes look at the artists’ creative process. On view are photographic portraits—jointly styled by Cyr and Chief Two Running Elk—that shaped the monument’s stance and mood. The final work will take form as a larger-than-life, 3D-printed bronze sculpture based on a scanned portrait of the Chief. Contemporary reproductions of ritual objects and accessories, researched and designed by the Chief from historical sources, are also on display.

Chief Two Running Elk, a descendant of the Wainer and Cuffe families whose ownership of the farm spans more than 200 years, envisions Wainer Woods as a community gathering space and an Eastern Woodlands Indian educational center. Plans include artist residencies, a food forest, a seed saver farm, and an orchard—cultivating both cultural and ecological renewal.