OVERVIEW
Inspired by the dynamic, yet often-overlooked waters who animate our city, Mother Bayou is a collaborative exhibition by Margaux Crump and Jake Eshelman that wonders what might be possible when we collectively reimagine Houston’s bayou ecologies as sacred, fertile community spaces that nurture the biodiversity, vitality, and unfolding stories of our city. The exhibition features photographic images, sculptures, and direct material collaborations made with the myriad beings—both real and imagined—who reside in Houston’s bayous.
DATES & LOCATION
The exhibition is on-view Dec 12, 2025–Feb 1, 2026. Normal gallery hours are every Saturday (excluding Jan 24th) from 12–6p, or by appointment*. The Ion District Gallery is located on the first floor of their parking garage on Fannin St. between Eagle and Cleburne, across from the Ion on the ground floor.
Please join us for an opening reception at The Ion District Gallery on Friday, Dec 12th, 2025 from 6–8p.
All Mother Bayou events are open and free to the public.
*please contact margaux@margauxcrump.com or jake@jakeeshelman.com to schedule a private viewing outside of normal gallery hours
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Margaux Crump is an interdisciplinary artist and researcher exploring the entanglements between magic, science, and the spiritual Imagination. After earning her MFA in studio art from Washington University in St. Louis, Crump immersed herself in the study of esotericism and ecology. Taking form primarily through sculpture, photography, painting, and ritual, her work traces threads of the mythic, magical, and imaginal across disciplines and histories in search of how they inhabit and trouble the present. Crump has notably exhibited at the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, Women & Their Work, DiverseWorks, and Fotofest. She is a recipient of the Stone & DeGuire Contemporary Art Award and a recent Houston Endowment Jones Artist.
www.margauxcrump.com
www.instagram.com/margauxcrump
Jake Eshelman is an artist and researcher exploring the complex relationships between humans, our environment, and everyone we share it with. Primarily working through photography, fragrance, and written word, he is especially fascinated by the ethical and spiritual significance of ecological interactions. As such, Eshelman blends his creative and academic interests to help expand our normative conception of ‘ecology’ and provide opportunities for us to collectively transcend the notion that humanity is somehow separate from—or superior to—nature. Eshelman has exhibited internationally, including Vantaa Art Museum Artsii in Helsinki, Finland; Contemporary Calgary in Alberta, Canada; Houston Center for Photography in Houston, TX; The Centre for Research in the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities at Cambridge University, UK; and Rhode Island School of Design, RI.
www.jakeeshelman.com
www.instagram.com/jake.eshelman
TOGETHER, the artists’ collaborative work materializes as long-term, research-based projects rooted in creative, academic, and spiritual inquiry. They are particularly devoted to exploring the crossroads between ritual, ecology, folklore, and cultural memory—here in Houston and further afield.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Mother Bayou is funded in part by the City of Houston through the Houston Arts Alliance. The artists also want to thank Piper Faust of Piper Faust Public Art and The Ion District for their support in coordinating this exhibition.
