HEALING LANDSCAPES

SOCRATES SCULPTURE PARK | QUEENS, NY

Healing Landscapes, a dual-sided, interactive public art sculpture in Astoria, Queens, invited viewers to engage with the complexities of ecological identity and its framing. Measuring 6.5 feet by 3.5 feet, this installation explored the legacy of struggles for economic, social, and environmental equality, translating these histories into contemporary understandings of biocultural diversity. Each side featured ceramic tiles that served as a modular canvas, allowed for shifting, altering, and transforming visual realities.

On side one, Ghetto Ecosystem presented a collection of images that challenged perceptions of urban environments—individual abstracted figures resembling dendrological forms, natural hairstyles within Black culture, and hair picks in fusion. On side two, Subtly Natural showcased the beauty of showcased the beauty of interweaving these elements–– the conglomerate, an abstracted (terra)form that was created within biodiversity. This imagery paid homage to the question of "invasive" species and celebrated the beauty that emerged from cultural fusion.

2024, Socrates Sculpture Park, Long Island City, Queens, NY. Materials: porcelain, underglaze, glaze, steel, wood, caulk, epoxy. Created and installed by artist Nala C. Turner as part of The Socrates Annual 2024, with on-site fabrication in the park’s open-air studio. Supported by Socrates Sculpture Park and its fellowship program.