The emerald ash borer, or EAB, is an iridescent, green, penny-sized beetle. For those aware of its invasive nature, the insect’s name may call to mind rotting trees and climate change. Perhaps less intuitive, though, is the EAB’s connection to the St. Louis Cardinals. This unlikely link is one focus of Laumeier Sculpture Park’s upcoming exhibition, Jean Shin: Home Base.
The installation, on view September 10 through December 11, will appear on the park’s south lawn and serve as a temporary addition to its 70 other large-scale sculptures.
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Home Base was created by Laumeier’s 2022 Visiting Artist-in-Residence Jean Shin. During her initial site visit to the park, a conversation about the decline of ash trees struck a chord with Shin. Since the discovery of the first EAB in North America 20 years ago, the beetle has destroyed tens of millions of ash trees across the U.S. This tree species—highly valued for its durable, smooth-grained wood—has traditionally been used by sports manufacturer Rawlings to fashion bats for the St. Louis Cardinals. Now, its population is rapidly dwindling.
“[Baseball] is this all-American obsession that we have,” Shin says. “I felt like the two histories were aligned, but we’re in an ecological crisis with the tree. So many states have experienced the ash borer invasive species.”
Shin’s installation takes the shape of a professional baseball diamond, using the sport as a lens through which viewers can conceptualize the environmental impact of the ash borer. At home base, guests encounter an ash stump that has been carved with the image of a house. The remaining bases feature seats fashioned from baseball bats donated to the project by Rawlings. Because Shin worked remotely from her home in New York, the sculptures were created in collaboration with local fabricator Goebel & Co. Furniture. Each base-turned-seat asks visitors to stop and consider the link between nature and culture.
“[With Home Base], I’m giving you the agency, and you’re the players in this ecological crisis,” Shin says. “You’re going from one thing to another and seeing the beauty of the ash tree; witnessing either its slow recovery or slow decline. I’m wanting people to contemplate that, and offering them an inviting space to do so on these beautiful ash tree benches and chairs.”
Through her public sculptures, Shin aims to mobilize the community “on an issue happening locally that is connected to larger global and ecological concerns.” Home Base draws on St. Louisans’ most beloved sport in service of a broader dialogue.
“I hope it triggers [visitors’] love of baseball,” Shin says. “Then I hope they question, ‘What is the balance of that in relationship with our ecological struggle?’”
Visitors can attend Home Base’s exhibition opening on September 10 from 11 a.m.–1 p.m, where Shin will host a meet and greet to explain her creative process.
