Drift Poles from the River of Two Minds

In 2017 I constructed a wailing wall of drift poles tumbled, worn and spit out by The Hudson River. Each pole carries within it a story connected to this ancient river. It became evident while collecting the poles one by one that I was engaged in a process of re-membering fragments. I have attempted to unite the stories by joining the poles with a hollow rod. This required drilling holes into each pole. The ceremonial act of drilling holes through wood appears in many ancient primitive rituals from the Mayans to the Celts. It was believed that energies being released helped in maintaining balance in the world. Located near the wall is a basket of paper for writing down a prayer or intention to stick into a crack. Two years later, in 2019 we conducted a sound meditation and a ritual reading of the prayers that accumulated during the exhibition. The prayers were burned and the ash released in the river.