Drawing the forgotten history with materials in situ

Collected cardboard from construction sites around the area were used to create forms that are scaled based on the ‘Looking for Angola’ project, the excavation of the forgotten Maroon Community in the area of Bradenton/Sarasota. The excavation project retraced the remnants evident of the community of free people which had been demolished during the first Seminole War. At the height of 82 cm below the earth surface, multiple ‘post molds’ appeared, proving the presence of Slash Pine Cabins in the 1700s which were inhabited by people of maroon community.

The scale of the excavation pit and the height of the cabin were referential to the size of First Floor Down Under the Slash Pine Poem. The tall 85” rainstick which is hung from the ceiling is an interactive piece, allowing viewers to flip the structure to hear the sand falling from the height of 85” to revisit the height of the lost house. While the cubicle of 1m x 1m signifies the excavation pit where the postmold of slash pine cabin is discovered. The lost memories were sought to be re-enacted by visualizing the scale of the lost home with the materials of the now, which encompasses the construction cardboards, drywall compound, found nails, staplers, pinecones, Slash Pine leaves and locally sourced sand.