![]() ![]() The tree is important as a living, thriving organism, connecting to the deadly cruciform structure via a series of short missives about gun violence, collective action, hope and survival. Two lines of prayer flags extend from the shoulders of the sculpture, flying 12 feet over to a neighboring tree. Like Lewis’ flags, they appear in a candy-colored array, giving the work a polychromatic, full-spectrum presence, further evoking the vivid diversity of us, here in the USA. Similarly, Roleke’s shells- sourced from various rifle ranges- bear the marks of human touch and interaction- they are often bent and misshapen by use. They act as fluttering surrogates, protesting and bearing witness to each weaponized incident. ![]() Every flag contains human DNA, signs of wear and a past as the covering on a human torso. The prayer flags were made by Lewis, using crowd-sourced tee shirts hand-cut and stenciled with her custom messages. ![]() The large, cruciform structure was built by Roleke who painstakingly threaded, then wrapped dozens of used shotgun shells around the armature, to create a colorful, texturally rich take on the Christian cross. Margaret & Martha’s goal is to have Thoughts & Prayers tour the country, installed in various civic spaces, to help incite better conversations about our collective relationship to weapons and violence in the United States. Now on display on the campus grounds at Five Points Arts Center, this piece made its debut in the fall of 2022 on Governor’s Island, NYC where hundreds of visitors interacted with it. Thoughts & Prayers is a collaborative outdoor installation by artists Margaret Roleke and Martha Willette Lewis, addressing gun violence in America. ![]()
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