Design of The Memorial

Artist's Biography:

Spencer Evans is a figurative draftsman, painter and sculptor who aims to tell detailed stories by using the imagery of specific moments. The aim of his work is to contextualize relationships between internal conflict and external circumstance based on his life experiences. His choice of clothing and dramatic poses/facial expressions in the work is used to reference shared experiences rooted in identity and culture within the Black American community. He sees Black expression as a heroic form of communication from one generation to the next- it has existed despite direct violent opposition since his ancestors were brought to American shores. He sees its heroism in the form overt revolutionary acts as well as survival-based assimilation and everything in between. He attempts to depict the spirit of this world of expressions in each work- from the subtly nuanced to the completely polarized. "My work is free for any and everyone to witness and enjoy our songs of joy and pain; however, I am speaking to those who know. The Descendants of the Unfadable."

Spencer Evans was born in Houston, TX and earned his BFA in Drawing and Painting from the University of Missouri. Evans earned an MFA in Intermedia from the University of Texas at Arlington. He is currently living and working in Providence, Rhode Island, and is a Professor of Drawing at the Rhode Island School of Design. 

Artist's Statement:

With great hope and enthusiasm, I express my interest in being chosen as the designing and visionary factor of this declaration of honor and community reconciliation. As a painter, draftsperson, designer, and sculptor, I understand the impact that monumentalism has on the societies it inhabits. Monuments serve as an inverted time capsule that allows viewers to pass through and around them-inviting them into a glimpse of a particular time and circumstance despite the fact that everything surrounding them is constantly changing. Monuments offer the opportunity for the viewer to slow down and consider the messages that history may be giving them; while this interaction takes place, time itself seems to slow down within it. I find it important to reference time and space with regard to this project because both them have proven to be cyclical-which may have been a factor that birthed the need/desire for a marker to serve as a new spark of reconciliation for this generation and reminder for the next. 

In my public art practice, it is part of my process to converse with the community members who are intended to be represented in the work before any of the work begins. This helps me to add layers to my approach, which serve as respect and recognition for those directly connected to the finished piece. The layers also serve as rewarding communication to any and everyone who spends more time interacting with them as the layers reveal themselves with further investigation.

My concept for the memorial is based in the love and respect for my ancestors who endured the middle passage as well as a life in bondage long enough to be emancipated, which resulted in generations of descendants being able to live and thrive on this land today. For ethnic context, most of the Africans in bondage in New England were brought over from the Caribbean-over 70% of their enslaved population was from the region known as the D.R. of Congo, with the remaining population spread across the further West African coastal region. My concept is also rooted in the same respect for the ancestors and descendants of Pokanoket people who lived in harmony with this land before any of us. Due to this love and respect, this project will not depict trauma. Our people are much more than stories of suffering, both of these groups have rich cultural identities without the lens of oppression and in spite of it. The context of the hardships endured will reveal itself through the layers. The ancestors will be depicted with their true identity intact. Visually, the monument will include 3 bronze figures-two adults and one child. Both adult figures will have their bodies facing the Bristol Harbor, the first will be a woman. The position of her body will serve as a metaphor for the Pokanoket women who stood at the Cliffs of Sorrow waiting for their stolen families to return. The second figure, a man, will symbolize every African ancestor and descendent who possesses the viscerally sensational reminder that we are not in our home land. However, both their gazes will be fixed toward the child as the second points inland at the direction that the child is moving. The dynamically twisted posture of the adult figures will also symbolize the task of circumstantial endurance while possessing a radical love and hope for future generations despite their reality of living in bondage, displacement, and oppression. The child figure will also have a dynamic pose which is seemingly almost weightless in their movement, symbolizing the future generations who are carrying their ancestors with them as they are able to make constant attempts at living their dreams. The final element of representation in this plan is a reference of the land itself. The Pokanoket people share the oral history of their land being formed on a turtle’s back (North America is known as Turtle Island to some Indigenous nations). I plan for the concrete slabs under the figures to resemble an approved symbolic design that represents the land as the Pokanoket People see it. The permanence of a people’s relationship with their land undoubtedly serves as evidence of a thriving existence despite all attempts to destroy it-especially when we see it through the expression of a child. This type of thriving existence of a people is only possible through the strength, wisdom, and innovation of the ones who came before them. That same strength, wisdom, and innovation is necessary for the descendants of enslaved Africans and Indigenous people to thrive today-this is one of the many ways in which our ancestors remain with us at every moment. This monument is meant to depict the spirit of those who were brought here against their will as well as those called this land “home” before colonization. I regard this shining spirit as one that remains bright enough for us to still feel its warmth today. 

In the 3D mock up and drawing, the clothing designed for the adults is influenced by traditional Congolese Liputa, I deconstructed the modern elements for it to resemble the silhouette of Congolese clothing in the 1800s. The clothing I designed for the child is a nod to Afrofuturism, which is the essence of seeing Black life beyond the present day. However, if I am chosen to complete this project, the figure closest to the Bristol Harbor will be an approved culturally representative of a Pokanoket woman to reference the close relationship of both communities during their shared time in bondage in New England after King Phillip’s War. The child will be representative of both communities’ reclamation of freedom of identity and life on this land.

Every monument in existence offers a striking notion no matter the story: a depiction of an idea that will stand the test of time and inform every generation that sees it. The aim of this monument is to offer a glimpse at the undying wisdom, strength, and beauty of two groups of people who were the foundation of this community by way of the land itself and the hands that were used to transform it. It is a fact these ancestors and their descendants carried marvelous identities that existed before, during, and after subjugation. This fact will aid in granting peace to the community of Bristol for future generations. I hope to have the opportunity of aligning with this to inform those generations of Bristol’s desire for reconciliation on the land that is loved by so many.