The Mason-Dixon Line was drawn between 1763 and 1767 to settle a land dispute between the Penn and Calvert families. It later became the line that separated freedom from slavery during the Civil War. The northern portion represented the Union - free states starting with Pennsylvania. The southern represented the Confederacy - slave states starting with Maryland. The line stretches from Delaware to West Virginia. It is marked by limestones every mile and crown stones every five miles. A lot of the markers are buried in the woods and or on private property making them hard to find.

A video titled One Drop Rule confronts the southern side of a stone. The one drop rule was a form of segregation in Jim Crow south. It traces African ancestry within mixed race individuals. The rain drops emulate the trivial nature of deducing blood cells in one human. The heartbeat rhythm of the drops blurs contamination within the stone.

A red projection scans Stargazers’ stone to account for wear in time. The projection is off kilter to respond to this chronology. Stargazers’ stone is the origin point of the Mason Dixon line. It is where Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon made their calculations.

As a child, the Underground Railroad sounded like a fantastical place that was actually buried underground. The more I learned about freedom, the more I knew how fortunate my family was. I wanted to immortalize how extraordinary the conductors on the Underground Railroad were.

A grass cone made out of papier-mâché and fresh cut grass was installed in a park. The opening of the cone has a magnifying glass inserted into the structure. Underneath the diorama is an iPad with a video playing. The video is of a driving sequence in Philadelphia, PA. The visuals are moving as if the viewer is on a train. Philadelphia, is a city of opportunity that I am celebrating.

The location of this diorama is near the Lloyd Farmhouse. The Lloyd family were abolitionists that participated in the Underground Railroad. I am well aware now, that these events did not take place underground. I wanted the memory to live on as a wondrous reminder of the possibilities of property in Pennsylvania.

Derry Union American Methodist Episcopal Cemetery, is the second largest slave cemetery in Chester County, PA. It houses ten Civil War soldiers of the colored troops division. Every few years the area resurfaces in popularity and is revitalized. The last cleanup was in 2016. Since then, housing developments have been built blockading both sides of the cemetery.

I made reliquaries and a mask helmet to sit on this land. Reliquaries were used to house bones and ashes of the deceased. They were also believed to protect burial grounds in African culture. I created relics out of air-dry clay, paint and found objects. All of the relics are female as evidence of the mirror lip plate. The lip plates size told the price of marriage. I think of these as a symbol of fertility. These are meant to defend this land but also adapt to their circumstances.

The mask helmet was also worn by women in western Africa near Sierra Leone. They would perform during funerals as an honorary tribute to the deceased. I made the helmet out of a lamp shade, papier-mâché, a glass ball, a light bulb and synthetic hair. The glass ball has etches made in brown spray paint maintaining 19th century symbology. The body of the dancer is a projection of a moving figure. I think of this performance as a temporal dance in outcomes.