Stories in the Stones
MARTHA JACKSON JARVIS STUDIOWhile mind traveling on my yoga matt A vision resurfaced of a collaborative project completed in 2000. To date, its life has existed in the great abyss of my personal archive of curiosities and wonders. Travel with me now through time.... to Stories in the Stones.
Collaborators
Reading landscape reveals the past and foretells the future.
Every place embodies enduring stories that are deeply embedded in the shape and structure of landscape.
As contemporary heirs to public lands, artifacts and historical information, Stories in the Stones seeks to animate enliven and reconnect to the legacy of survival connected to the landscape. It encourages a sense of ownership of human resources and natural resources that surround us.
Inspired by the power of the landscape to inform and reveal layers of history and events. Inspiration for Stories in the Stones emerged from a neglected graveyard in Washington, DC. Now called Mt Zion Cemetery, the site was used by Montgomery Street Church beginning in 1809 for the interment of its members, their slaves and free black members of the church. In 1879 the land was sold to Mt Zion Church as a burial ground.
From this historic site arises an authentic narrative that is inextricably linked to the epic experience of the land and the diverse cultures implanted and encoded there. From ancient unmarked stones of enslaved and free Africans to inscribed names and lost memories of unknown ancestors, the stones speak eloquently of time, traditions and posterity.
This project seeks to reunite ancestral paths and bridges. As the project develops, patterns evolve from disparate ideas, artifacts, legends and lore. Native plants and natural resources of the site infuse the project with an element of environmental conservation that connects us to the past and protects some small part of the future.
Stories in the Stones reveals the process of encountering fragments of history, culture, and personal identity that affect the landscape and shape our view of the environment. It establishes a non-static view of the landscape, challenging our conventional sense of place and exposes unfamiliar and uncommon ground. The site is enlivened and set in motion through dance and masquerade.
Reader Comments (1)
Tombs reminds us that our love once is there waiting for us to visit them .