Return homeConfluence is a type of memorial to the millions of lives that perished during the colonization of the new world, allowing us now to celebrate our union and the three rivers area of Pittsburgh. My site-specific installation under the Portal Bridge at Point State Park consists of 60 wooden beds, configured on each side of the bridge in three rows as they would in a military field hospital (30 beds on each side of the bridge). These beds are used as a symbol for humanity, a stage for our birth, rest and death. Instead of mattresses, each bed has locally grown grass placed on top, a reference to the natural world that has also been lost in the area. At the head of each bed is a folded fur blanket, pointing to the atrocities committed against the Native American, but also the exploration and trade that first brought the European to the area. Finally, on some of the beds is a seated wooden canine, seen by some cultures both from the Old World and the New World as sacred, helping carry the soul over turbulent waters to the land of the dead. The dogs in this installation patiently await their human companions, watching for them from both this world and the next.
Press reviews:
Pittsburgh Art Places – Review
Triblive – Review
Pittsburg Post-Gazette – Review
2015
Site specific installation at the Portal Bridge in Point State Park, Pittsburgh, PA