Supported by the Sir Frank Bowling Scholarship, J. Paris’s doctoral research traces the entanglements between built environments and stigmatised social experiences, attending to immersive modes of historicising that exceed nationalist borders and orientations.
Between a Wounded Feet and God
Installation, 170 x 250 x 130cm
A site-specific installation, at its core, the piece features a fractured wooden structure, supported by slender metal legs, balancing delicately between gravity and ascent. Its carved and compressed surfaces resonate with the lyrical language of Paul Laurence Dunbar, whose poetry embodies a quiet endurance. Dunbar’s rhythm guides the viewer’s focus, intertwining form, journey, and memorial presence within the material.
This installation also reflects the concept of the sovereignty of quiet, as explored by Kevin Quashie. It brings forth a presence that is subtle yet powerful, allowing quietness to become a space of strength and resilience. This sovereignty of quiet speaks to the profound inner worlds that persist even in stillness, mirroring the work’s delicate balance and quiet endurance.
In parallel, the piece mirrors the breath-device central to the exhibition, an object that holds, resists, yields, and breathes in relation to its environment and our own bodies. As the curatorial vision invites us to consider breath as a rhythmic system, this work extends that rhythm into the act of walking, stepping, and the body negotiating ground and motion. In essence, Between a Wounded Foot and God becomes a space where quiet endurance and rhythmic motion converge, embodying the subtle strength found in both movement and stillness.
Curated by Dare Dada