Matthew Buckingham’s film Muhheakantuck – Everything has a Name was screened aboard a New York Water Taxi, as it navigated the Hudson River from Christopher Street to the film’s endpoint at the Statue of Liberty, and back. The 40-minute-long film featured a single continuous shot from a helicopter as it traveled above the river, as well as a narration by the artist, in which he meditated on the region’s turbulent history.
Muhheakantuck, more specifically, explored the social and political impact of the relatively brief but violent period of contact between Dutch colonists and the Lower Hudson River Valley’s indigenous Lenape people. By examining how maps are constructed, how places are named (and thereby owned), and what stories are left silent, the film exposed the consequences of Henry Hudson’s journey. Buckingham’s narrative, too, reminded the viewer, “The river that became known as the Hudson was not discovered—it was invented and re-invented.”
Image by Matthew Buckingham
Matthew Buckingham
Muhheakantuck – Everything Has A Name
Manhattan
2008
