Silence

As an interracial couple, we are looking to the history of gradual emancipation and the Underground Railroad to speak about race relations today Silence: New Haven is the first iteration of a larger ongoing meta-artwork that engages historic sites as well as traditional art-world venues. We are investigating the role of silence as a conscious, active civic decision. This type of silence in its most toxic form was as much an element of slavery as it is an element of contemporary racism. Like our other installations, Silence is a work of performative sculpture that reflects the complexity of changing social issues over time and space, and involves ever-changing collaborations with individuals and organizations.

Silence: New Haven was developed with Rev. Shepard Parsons, senior pastor of Center Church on the Green, and the members of the Dixwell Avenue Congregational Church in New Haven, Connecticut, whose photographic portraits were installed in the pews of Center Church together with an audio installation and a series of granite plaques. The collaborative creative team included the photographer Mark Luttrell, the graphic designers Matthew McGuinness and Francesca Jacchia, and the vocal artist Imani Uzuri.