My project explores collective memory and the systematic devaluation of the minds and bodies of people of color in Philadelphia. This devaluation is examined from the historical perspective of forgotten burial grounds as well as from the contemporary perspective of public school closings. My way of addressing these issues is through a small on-site sculptural intervention. Each “mini-monument” features an inscription commemorating the people who once occupied these spaces or who still occupy them (those buried beneath city playgrounds, highways, and homes). In an animated video, the “mini-monument” takes the viewer on a journey through each of the five sites, which include three former burial grounds and two closed schools. Ultimately, this project is both an exploration of how histories of neglect and cultural erasure relate to issues faced by people of color in the present day as well as an exploration of form within the context of a small, portable monument.
Fine Arts Senior Thesis Exhibition, Spring 2015
