When We Meet at The Stations: Sisters,
What a Mourning!
A site specific installation by Stephanie Anne Johnson
Commissioned by St. Lawrence University, Canton, New York 2002
Crucifixion, persecution, when all is gone, what remains? I believe that resonances of the past are deeply held within cultural memory. Nothing is ever lost or forgotten, transformation is inevitable. There are many ways to die, what is known is that spirit survives and continues with the help of the ancestors.
One of my grandmothers cleaned the houses of white people, the other grandmother prepared food for family and farmhands. I come from a long, long line of working and praying African and Native American women. This installation is dedicated to their memory.
In the Catholic Church, the Fourteen Stations of the Cross have provided visual remembrance of the life of Jesus, one of the world's prophets. Along with many others, he spoke of forgiveness, resurrection and remembrance. As you move through the chapel and actively engage with this piece, it is my intention that you experience moments of introspection as well as reflection upon the contributions of African American people and the legacies of your own ancestors. It is my hope that you will deeply consider how accountability to each of them is manifested in your life.
