Portfolio > The 436 Project

My ongoing project, 436, is an installation informed by an 1859 slave auction catalog. The catalog lists each person by name and numbers 1 through 436, the order in which they went onto the auction block. This was one of the largest slave auctions in U.S. history.

Upon completion, the installation will include a sound work and 436 mixed-media, textile-based sculptures- embodying and amplifying the stories of each enslaved person listed in the catalog.

As the sculptures are created, they are exhibited in groups of two or more.

Through this work, I am creating an evolving universe, paying homage to my own enslaved ancestors and opening a portal to experience a dignified remembering of these once dehumanized people and their little-known stories. 

Indigo Bess and her children
Indigo Bess and her children
indigo-dyed osnaburg, cotton, wire, jute, mini glass bottles, sequin, twigs, cotton bolls, acrylic, rice, crystals, beads, shells, screen-printed archival image on cotton, embroidery hoops, handwoven and crochet, installation view dimensions varied.
installation view, dimensions varied
2025