Planting a vision of what the word us means in the heart of America.
Although the internal slave trade in the United States was one of the largest forced dislocations in world history, and the antebellum southern slave market its central commercial agent, the reality of the domestic trade remains abstract for most Americans today. Remains of this vital history are largely hidden in plain sight on the American commemorative landscape.
I Was Here aims to bring healing to this wound in our society.
History is a narrative-based medium that is often viewed as factual, even when it tells a story that purposefully omits or alters the truth. Controlling the narrative controls the reality of a situation and how it is understood over time. The I Was Here project exposes the ancestral roots that exist within buildings, cities, and ourselves.
Ancestors are a vital source of instruction, power, and dignity. Some psychologists believe that we are born with an ancestral imprint. A collection of memories and experiences that aid in our survival. What traces of our ancestors do we carry within ourselves, our land, and our stories?
Through the blending of fact and imagination, I Was Here explores the significance of memory, history, and ancestry and how all three come together to begin the process of healing spaces wounded by enslavement.
Partnering with Historians
Historians working with the project have drawn connections between the installation sites and their histories. By linking the portraits to a known and knowable past, we are working together to grapple with the ongoing legacies of human bondage in the United States.