Description

Briar’s sculpture represents a monument commissioned in the year 2523, five hundred years from now. A transparent, nine-foot-tall obelisk fills with swirling fog that slowly disperses into the atmosphere through small holes in the top of the obelisk. Text and images project onto the fog and represent what a monument could possibly be and say in 2523. The text comes from extensive interviews with youth and leaders from the Asheville community. Briar’s project collectively envisions a future Asheville that has gone a long way to heal from its past, one that is not just equitable, but deeply flourishing. With the removal of the Vance monument, Asheville is now at a crossroads in its memorialization and has a unique opportunity to learn, grow, and heal.

About the Artist: Instagram @oikos_umbra

Project Sponsors and Collaborators: Collaborators include Tiffany De’Bellott and Shuvonda Harper with Center for Participatory Change, Catherine Mitchelle, Executive Director with River Front Development Group; and Brian Randall with Hall Fletcher Elementary

Video created by Emmanuel Figaro for the City of Asheville's Art in the Heart program.