The American School in London
February – April, 2022

Had a lovely time as the Innovator-in-Residence at the American School in London and created a new participatory public installation on dreams. The Nightly News is a cinema of the surreal scenes of anxiety, desire, and other possible worlds that fill our heads at night. It reminded me that we’re all deeply weird creatures bound together by nerves, fantasy, and the surreal. Themes emerged: we fall, we flee, and we search for answers. Our teeth fall out, we run through hallways in the sky, and we get stabbed with forks. I think I prefer getting to know everyone through their subconscious lives. More here.

Charlotte, North Carolina
February 24 – July 25, 2021
More information

Reflect on your relationship with doubt at the illuminated wall and share more through a growing video installation of handwritten responses in the galleries. Light the Barricades continues at the Mint Museum with generous support from Charlotte Center City Partners.

Photo by de’Angelo Dia

The mesmerizing diversity of the letter ‘a’ handwritten by 651 people. Detail of a work in progress, ink and mylar on canvas.

Impressing other people is killing the true me… I judge others in terms of my own deficiencies… I fear my grandsons will not heal… My inclination toward oblivion… I worry we are losing our humanity… My pride that prevents me from changing… Accepting and letting go with equal measures of grace. These are just a few of the hundreds of handwritten reflections that have moved me and might offer consolation and courage to you too. They are in our limited edition Light the Barricades book, a meditation on the psychological barriers in our lives and a labor of love over the last year. Available at Ritual Fields.

When the Annenberg Space for Photography invited us to create a public installation as part of their exhibit on the history of walls, we thought about walls both physically and psychologically. Walls that prevent us from connecting with others and ourselves. The wall as a site to contemplate difficult material and even atone. Inspired by many things, from the ancient I Ching to the speculative worlds of cyberpunk to the billboards that dominate our cities, we started sketching images of people gathering before an illuminated wall in the middle of the night. A year later, the installation opens September 5, 2019 across Los Angeles. More here.

Cordoba, Argentina. Photo by Jenny Carden

Najaf, Iraq. Photo by Moja

Brooklyn, NY. Photo by Shake Shack

Almaty, Kazakhstan

Savannah, GA. Photo by Trevor Coe

Pohang City, South-Korea. Photo by Shin Yuran

San Francisco, CA. Photo by Kristina Kassem

Johannesburg, South Africa. Photo by BeforeIDieSA

Cordoba, Argentina. Photo by Bernd Biedermann

Within this space, themes already emerged. For memories:

Memories of the Tiki Bar on the top floor

Ghost story of room 303

Themes for hopes:

Desire for a grocery store

Desire for an Indian restaurant

Desire for modern apartments downtown

Part of the team. Photo by resident

Photos of the process:

Photo by Carol Hayden

Photo by David Hayden

Project coordinator David Hayden. Photo by resident

Photos by Candy Chang unless credited otherwise. You have permission to use above photos for publicity about this project.