Reflections: Making Mercy
Making Mercy – A Screening and Celebration was a living reminder of the redemptive and healing power of forgiveness. As the first public event for arts incubator Mother Mercy, it was important for the screening and celebration to reflect the spiritual nature of the creator’s visual narrative. Through altar work it was intended that this event be a moment for not only celebration but also remembrance and reflection, through the What I Mean by Mercy series (see "projects").
Altar two held pink Shango candles, dried purple flowers coupled with custom-made incense, records by Aretha Franklin, Chaka Khan and Phyllis Hyman as well as a Tarot Card with a poem and a still from the film. All items representing the many ways people of the African diaspora have received and given Mercy to themselves and others throughout history. Leaning on catholic, voodoo, hoodoo and black artistic traditions, the altar installations signified a crossroads for spirituality and creativity. By using poetry and visual media as the catalyst, the screening was also an invitation for the audience to explore their own relationship to creativity as spiritual practice.
Shortly after the artist JME and I entered pre-production, we began to build the container for the questions and conversations we were inviting our communities to engage in.
What does Mercy mean to you?
How has art/creativity served as a lifeline?
What friends, new lovers and/or chosen family reminded you of your capacity in the face of despair?
When leaning on the wisdom of your own bones and blood, how have you saved yourself?
The acknowledgement that this was a space to speak about the artists work as salvation, sharpened our intention when physically construing the space. It was decided that I would create altar installations that would be physical articulations of the work. Historically, altars have served various functions, from spell casting to ancestor worship, this space can be an intersection between the martial and spiritual world.
The installations I created would serve to hold the sacred intentions of the process and give the audience a different way to interact with the works. Each of the poems would have their own altar, with items that were connected specifically to language used in WIMBM I,II and III. For three weeks I spent hours in botanicas across Manhattan and the Bronx, searching for materials that truly conjured the spirit of each piece. Intuitive listening and divination became another critical part of the production process. I found it important that we add another tool to the installations. JME and I created tarot cards specially inspired by WIMBM I, II and III.
The artist’s hand gripping a piece a fruit, was the imagery chosen for the magician tarot card, power, intellect and mastery of the four elements are often associated with this archetype. The card with the poem on the back lies next to High John the Conquer candles, framing Malcolm X, John Coltrane and the autobiography of Billie Holiday. On the same table sat black salt, roots for candle magic and a jar of cotton. Each altar a mix of religious and “secular” tools for reliance.
Making Mercy was intended to be a sacred space for exploration around the many paths to Mercy. By engaging people in this line of inquiry we hoped to challenge the audience to be reflective about how spirituality influences their own creative process as well as their own definitions of Mercy.
WHAT I MEAN BY MERCY: I – Altar I
The Elements
Fire: White Candle Seven-Day Candle
Water: Florida Water
Air: Frankincense
Earth: Yellow Dried Rose Petals
Spell Ingredients (Based off the text)
Florida Water
Witch Bottle (Salt, Sand, Water, Pearls, Love Bath, Black Lace)
Jar of Salt
Midnight Love – Marvin Gaye
The Shadows Took Shape – Naima J. Keith, Zoe Whitley
Stomping the Blues – Albert Murray
The Fire Next Time- James Baldwin
Tarot Card – World Card
Jameson
WHAT I MEAN BY MERCY: II – Altar II
Elements
Fire: Pink Shango Candle
Water: Love Bath
Air: Incense
Earth: Moss / Dried Flower Petals
Spell Ingredients (Based off the text)
Blue Mermaid
Amheryst
Crave Radiance –Elizabeth Alexander
Speculating Future Black Imagination & the Arts - Obsidian Literature & Arts in the African Diaspora
Contemporary African Artists – Studio Museum in Harlem
Let me in your life - Aretha Franklin
The Best Short Stories by Black Writers – Langston Hughes
Phyllis Hyman
Chaka Khan
Ashtray with sage
Golden Buddha
Rosary
Honey
Tarot Card – The Lovers
Mount Gay Barbados Rum
WHAT I MEAN BY MERCY: III – Altar III
Elements
Fire: High John the Conquer Candles
Water: Coconut Water
Air: Sage
Earth: Cotton
Spell Ingredients (Based off the text)
Black Artist on Art – Vol 1
Lady Sings the Blues – Billie Holiday
Some Time Ago – Chester Higgins Jr.
Stomping the Blues – Albert Murray
Malcolm X – The Ballot or the Bullet
A Love Supreme-John Coltrane
Mojo Bags
Eshu
Black Salt
Juana La Blanca Root
Anamu Root
Hydrangea
Tarot Card
Hendricks Gin
Don’t be Ashy Body Butter