COUNTING

Collaborative work with Xavier Roux and with the support of ArtFormsUs in Harlem.

In March 2020, the world stopped breathing. The word pandemic overtook mind and body. Suffering, sickness, and solitude marked the days. Autumn arrived; leaves began to fall. With each falling leaf, we remembered being part of something immense and tangible. ArtFormsUs members collected leaves, one at a time, and used a thread to unite them. We mourned the lives taken by the pandemic.

In Harlem, together, we built a giant wreath with 24,146 leaves. This was the number of lives lost to the pandemic in New York City as of November 18, 2020. Since then, more have died, and we are still counting.

This video work was exhibited as a public projection as part of the exhibition “Counting Tales” in Harlem in 2021.

VIDEO: running time 3:50 min