EDIFICE & MORTAR

Edifice and Mortar is described by artist Sonya Clark as "a wall, a flag, and a document." The sculpture is constructed with hand made bricks, each stamped with a word from a well recognized passage of the Declaration of Independence. The backs of each brick are stamped with the word "schiavo," which is Italian for "slave." Black hair collected from salons in the Richmond Virginia area is used as the mortar that holds the bricks together, and a reflective blue panel mirrors the visage of viewers who venture closer. The sculpture asks viewers to consider how and by whom the foundations of the United States were truly laid, and contemplate their own role in its current framework.