Drowned from the Unknown
14"h x 19"w x 15"d
sculpted/sand-casted glass
2022
"Drowned from the unknown is inspired by a darker, unspoken history of America.
Many post-slavery Black towns were destroyed by racism - Oscarville, Delta Park, Black Wall Street, and Seneca Village, to name a few. Many lives were lost, homes and knowledge were burned, drowned, or buried. The parks and lakes people visit frequently could be a once thriving town.
Using sand casted impressions, the texture invokes a reflection on African American towns that once thrived and were destroyed within days, weeks, and months. Either drowned under bodies of water, destroyed by mobs or turned into parks. I used lapis blue over sandy textured glass to help invoke a buried and waterlogged feel. I'm not one to usually make pieces like this, but as states start trying to muddle America's bloody and dark history towards people of color, it's hard not to want to fight back however you can. These are the imagined lost remnants of the past." -Devon Harrison