Destiny Manifest - by Gavin Bower 2005 The Term “Manifest Destiny“ was first used in 1845 by John O'Sullivan, an American journalist, to describe his belief in the inevitability of American territorial expansion. Under the auspices of God, America was to expand westwards. In doing so, the destiny of the most virtuous of all nations - to rule over what is now the United States - would be naturally manifest. As the wagon trains carried the pioneers westward, in pursuit of its riches, the doctrine of ‘Manifest Destiny” was institutionalised. Once all obstacles to expansion had been removed and the lands resources plundered, the frontier was closed and the nation established. One and a half centuries on Eric Wright and Cathy Ward set out to re-discover what ‘Manifest Destiny’ meant for Americans then, and what it means for all of us today. Destiny Manifest - Eden's End is a body of work - including a magnificent thirty eight foot painting - inspired by Eric and Cathy’s 7500 mile journey trailing the western expansion. Travelling across Nebraska, Wyoming and Utah to Nevada and finally California, what they discovered was the legacy of expansionist ideals, symbolised by the tragic parable of the Donner party. The Donner party consisted of a wagon train of a group of around ninety wagon train emigrants who in 1846 hoped to cross the vast, unimaginable American landscape to find the riches of the West. The travellers reached the Sierra Nevada Mountains in late October, but a snow storm had already closed the pass. Stranded, they were forced to build shelters of logs, rocks and animal hides, and to eat their animals, mice, twigs and their shoes. Finally they were forced to eat their own dead. In December, fifteen attempted to penetrate the snow blocked pass. Eight of then died, but seven got through, sending rescue workers for the remaining forty. Despite the damning realities of American territorial expansion, history has romanticised the causes and consequences of ‘Manifest Destiny’. For Eric and Cathy, the Donner party exists not only as an individual example of the wider consequences of Manifest Destiny, but also as an example of a romanticised and distorted past. The paintings spectacular centre piece - Eden's End - is panoramic diorama following the trail of the emigrants, and candidly juxtaposes what Cathy calls ‘the fantasy’ with ‘the bare realities’ of their journey. The Travellers had hoped to find riches - their ‘Eden's End’ - in the West, but the expectations with which they travelled contrasted vividly with their eventual fate. “ Their story is more like a parable” Eric explains. “ its a very tragic individual thing, but that's what you get if you set off with this sort of greed. And if that's turned into a big policy, then that's what everyone gets in the end. and that's what people are getting now” A simple literal rearrangement of O’Sullivans expression, Destiny Manifest illustrates the belief of the artists that the destiny that the pioneers believed in is manifest now, not only for Americans but for all of us. After centuries of imperialist land grabbing, and the pillaging of the world’s resources under the banner of private property - and while our own current leaders persue further riches in the name of a corrupted democratic vision - this destiny is painfully manifest for us all today. Destiny Manifest insightfully cuts through the tendency to romanticise the past in order to avoid engaging with its destructive consequences, and contrasts the expectations of utopians with the realities of their fate. Nevertheless, and despite warnings against a romanticised vision of an unromantic reality, Eric and Cathy have not given up on romanticism. “Our interest is having a belief and following it through - to be true to what we set out to do and to be true to what we were inspired to do” says Eric. “ And I think that romance comes from this belief in what you're doing.” Consequently, Destiny Manifest should not be viewed as anti-utopian or anti-romantic. Instead the artists propose an engagement with past realities and present calamities - and an understanding of the destiny manifest for all of us today - so that we can peruse a different course, towards a better future. FLUX Magazine : The Phoenix Rises - Issue 48
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