ENTERING FROM THE INSIDE: THE ART OF MEMORY
September, 2008
The Temple Judea Museum of Congregation Keneseth Israel
Elkins Park, PA
An interactive site-specific installation made out of “walls” of hand made paper embedded with grass seeds that are meant to evoke the historic sanctuary of Temple Judea that used to exist in the Oak Lane section of Philadelphia. The paper hangs over an intricate copper support structure that symbolizes the complex infrastructure underlining all communities. A drip irrigation system methodically trickles down the surface of the paper, causing the seeds to sprout and flourish like the lawns of the surrounding suburbs. Within the walls of copper are planted a series of speakers attached to motion sensors that, when passed, play memoirs recorded from various community members bringing to life the old saying “if these walls could talk, imagine the stories they could tell.”
