About the Film

Then

In 1976, British sculptor and School of Visual Arts graduate Geoff Pocock traveled alone to Monument Valley and spent ten days creating 12 Renditions of 24 Squared — a large-scale environmental land art installation in which 3,456 red and white industrial plastic bags were arranged in a precise geometric grid spanning 640 feet across the desert floor. The work was made with the formal permission of Navajo Nation Chairman Peter MacDonald and reflected Geoff's deep engagement with the Land Art movement, minimalism, and the relationship between human creativity and the natural world.

The installation was documented in photographs and film footage. Shortly after its completion, the bags were removed and the landscape returned to itself as if nothing had happened. The work was never widely seen. Geoff Pocock passed away in 2019.

Now

24 Squared Revisited is a two-part project: a large-scale environmental land art installation and a feature documentary film, both set in motion by a daughter's need to understand her father's most ambitious work — and to bring it into the world for the first time.

The project is co-created by Taya Pocock, Tucson-based media artist and filmmaker and daughter of Geoff Pocock, and Charity MacDonald, Navajo sculptor and installation artist and daughter of Chairman Peter MacDonald. Together, they will recreate the original installation at Monument Valley Tribal Park — tentatively planned for Spring 2027, pending permitting with the Navajo Nation — using sustainable, biodegradable materials: a deliberate transformation of what was once a solitary, masculine act into something communal, cross-cultural, and grounded in respect for the land.

The recreation will be open to the public during the installation period, inviting visitors to Monument Valley to witness the work being made. The documentary film will capture not only the installation itself but the conversations, relationships, and landscape surrounding it — weaving archival 1976 footage with contemporary filming to create a temporal dialogue between past and present.

Themes

24 Squared Revisited explores the enduring legacy of environmental land art and the 1970s Land Art movement; Indigenous land stewardship and the Diné relationship to Monument Valley; intergenerational creative inheritance — what daughters carry forward from their fathers; the transformation of individual artistic ambition into collective, collaborative practice; and the relationship between impermanence, documentation, and memory.

The Installation

The 3,456 bags in the recreation will be made from eco-friendly, biodegradable materials — leaving no permanent trace on the land. Following the installation, bags will be available to supporters and backers as material artifacts of the work. The installation is planned for Monument Valley Tribal Park, with permitting and cultural protocols being coordinated with Navajo Nation representatives and cultural advisors.

The Film

24 Squared Revisited is Taya Pocock's feature documentary debut. The film will be submitted to international documentary festivals, including Sundance, IDFA, Hot Docs, Tribeca Film Fest, and Sheffield Doc/Fest, among others, and will pursue broadcast partnerships with PBS/POV and international co-producers. A free public premiere screening will be held in Tucson following completion of the film.