SEESAW

SEESAW, is a 900 sq ft participatory artwork where the concept of justice is embodied through an interactive installation of a playground environment featuring see-saws and faux gold bullion bars. Participants are invited to play in this sensory learning experience that emphasizes various aspects of our identity that influence our perception of justice such as race, immigration status, education level, and more. When placed on the seesaw, the faux gold bullion bars are used to compare and contrast identity markers that echo the reality that Lady Justice is not blind, but watching and taking notes.

SEESAW was originally commissioned by Science Gallery Atlanta for the "Justice" Exhibit curated by Floyd Hall in 2023.

seesaw artist statement

“Shoot for the stars” but they keep getting farther
There is no one singular path to success.
“If I can see it, I can achieve it”
Doesn’t account for the systematic hurdles designed to keep it from me.

Justice isn't blind, her eyes are wide open in this country.
Her body is shrouded in justice never found and uplifted by populations conquered.
Her actions are weighted in who we are, not for the present but for the past.
Our identity and past identities conflict and contort the justice we bear witness to today

Take off your shoes and feel
Remember the role of the playground
Home of imagination
The land of the free and free-minded
A portal transforming what you see
into infinite combinations of what your memory remembers you saw

Here, we don't pull up ourselves by our bootstraps
We recognize those without boots on a mission to thrive anyway.
Here we take the cards America has dealt and dare to write a new story

Take hold of Lady Justice’s currency
Feel the weight of her judgment or the absence of her gaze
Play around and ask yourself
What are you doing in spite of lady justice today?

 

the making of seesaw

 

behind the words on the gold bullion

  • Race and racial terms are social constructs predominately used in America.

    • American Indian or Alaska Native

    • Asian

    • Black or African American

    • Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander

    • Latinx

    • White

  • Our perception and access to justice is greatly dependent on our level of education earned and even influenced by the level of education of our parents or guardians.

    • Master’s Degree or Above

    • Bachelor’s Degree

    • Highschool Graduate

    • Less than highschool

  • In a country built by slaves and infiltrated by European immigrants our country’s modern access to wealth, education, jobs, and other opportunities are dependent on immigration status.

    • Foreign-Born/ Naturalized U.S. Citizen

    • U.S. Citizen

    • Undocumented

    • Male

    • Female

    • Intersex

    • Single

    • Married

    • English as a Native Language

    • English as Second Language

    • Homeowner

    • Renter

    • Houseless

    • Heterosexual

    • Gay

    • Lesbian

    • Bisexual

    • Queer

    • Transgender

    • Cisgender

    • Non-Binary

    • Genderqueer / genderfluid