Vicissitudes: An Underwater Monument
The “Black American” experience in this country has been a very unique experience. Both the good & the ugly fills our history. Both troubles & triumph, & natural talent contributed to constantly re-crafting the vibe of this country that transcends the lows & woes every citizen faces at some point. Each of us, of many cultures, have taken on this American Dream, & it is to us a reflection of what we’re made of.
I was reminded of these things when I first saw Jason De Caires Taylor’s “Vicissitudes”
For starters I consider the name itself in definition:
Vicissitudes - A change of circumstances or fortune, typically one that is unwelcome or unpleasant. It’s associated with terms such as Alterations, Metamorphasis, Transformational Shifts, & Unpredictability.
Vicissitudes is a piece which depicts a group of individuals holding hands underwater. It’s often interpreted in association with the lives which were lost during what we know today as the “trans-Atlantic Slave-trade”. However, according to the artist, this was not his initial intentions with this piece.
“Vicissitudes depicts a circle of figures, all linked through holding hands. These are life-sized casts taken from a group of children of diverse ethnic backgrounds. Circular in structure… the work both withstands strong currents & replicates one of the primary geometric shapes, evoking ideas of unity & continuum… The sculpture proposes growth, chance, & natural transformation. It shows how time & environment impact on & shape the physical body. Children by nature are adaptive to their surroundings. Their use within the work highlights the importance of creating sustainable & well-managed environment, a space for future generations.” - One of Taylor’s Original Interpretation of his work
Despite his own interpretation, it’s said that he’s been willing & determined to leave his project open to interpretation, determining it’s own meaning. & So with this, it’s no surprise that so many of us have come to interpret this piece from a historical standpoint of the Atlantic Slave Trade. Some may even consider it a tribute-memorial of the lives lost during the middle passage.
To further support this idea, the piece itself is located underwater off of the coasts of Grenada. This happens to be where a great amount of the population are thought to be descendants of those same African slaves.
Finding the Beauty in a Painful Past
Learning to embrace the beauty of communities & cultures birthed from traumatic experiences is a healing component to finding new life. Being careful not to ignore the rooted tragedies of those experiences is vital to helping us not only appreciate the triumph of our human experience, but it also ensures that we learn from our past in hopes that we learn to recognize those cursed generational cycles in advance.
I believe this is partially what makes Vicissitudes so commonly interpreted in association with the middle passage. What makes Vicissitudes such a special piece is that it has continued to express these very qualities of “cultural rebirth” in very unique ways with time. An article I found on the project, describes the piece so perfectly.
“The tragic is never forgotten; in fact, as the coral takes hold in the concrete, unsettling effects are produced as the figures slowly become less recognizably human. At the same time, the very process that deforms their faces and limbs, that is, that enacts violence on the body, produces an afterlife in vibrant color. These mixed characteristics, both emotional and aesthetic, result from the way the sculpture physically combines generativity and decay.” -Davide Carozza, “Jason de Caires Taylor, “Vicissitudes”,” Deeps, The Black Atlantic, Duke University, http://sites.duke.edu/blackatlantic/ (accessed on 11/04/2022).
This isn’t to paint the wrong narrative of who we are & what we’ve been here on these lands. Every contribution adds to the accomplishments of what is called “black excellence”. These things are indeed our “higher standard” which has its great purpose(s). But besides these things its within me to see that we have an even HIGHER calling. & I see our standard as a witness of our capability to that call.
What does “Vicissitudes” remind us of our own experience?
The Effects of slavery in the modern world
Just as we find the coral disfiguration of many faces, their reflection reminds us that the tragedies of yesterday have a way of deforming our modern way of life. It’s even to the point that we may become unrecognizable, even to ourselves. Sometimes it takes the re-acknowledgment our scars to remind us of not only our resilience, but to also remind us of the obstacles even with-in ourselves that we still have yet to tackle. For example, the necessity in rediscovering a new sense of community.
Collective strengths & community
Just as Vicissitudes depicts a multitude joined hand-in-hand to form a circle, we get a certain sense of community from this piece. As well as the necessity, in a sense that the bonded circle formed may also resist the currents, being formed underwater. The live coral, that over-takes this piece, even reflects the nature of endurance. These all being their own qualities of collective strengths needed for the collective to not only have sustained in hardship, but to thrive with new life also.