In June of 2016, artist, Cheryl Pope, traveled to Santo Domingo on a cultural exchange to research the country and installation of a site-specific piece for the new embassy. White there, her attention focused on the tile work of the region. “Wandering through the colonial center of Santo Domingo, I was struck by the beauty of the patterned floor tiles found in many of the historical buildings. I thought about each tile as a keeper of memories almost hearing the generations of families laughing, dancing, and growing together.” Her research of the history of the tile in this area enlightened her on the rarity of their creation. “Upon researching the history of the tiles, I learned that most of these floors were being torn up during remodeling and that they are a rare tile only produced in three locations globally, Santo Domingo being one of them.” In country, Pope visited the factory. “Contacting the tile company, Agauyo Industrial, I was given the opportunity to visit the factory to learn the history, process, and view original patterns found throughout the city.”
Returning to her initial thoughts on the tiles as “keeper[s] of memories”, Pope used injected her site-specific installation with the same transience that memories have. “Using one of the original tile patterns, I created a floor plan that was stenciled on to the wall at the U.S. Embassy. I then selected only fragments of the “floor” to gold leaf which created fragments of various sizes almost as if the rest was worn away with time.”
Cheryl Pope also wrote a poem about her experience titled “Reactions”.
Color compositions
speak phrases
foreign
like daffodils growing in winter
moving simultaneously
as a tourist
and a resident
with a resident
become tourist
hand in hand
as strangers
and as familiars
in and out of patterned floor unfamiliar familiar mazes
we are lost
but always seem to find again
that which we were
meant to see.
I was unable to devour the texture of the people
I scraped the surface of the landscape the color and architecture
leaving with paint chip filled pockets
suck on candy to remember
another summer day
the history of colonization
felt present
still
silently passing in the breeze
still
attempting to blow away
an identity
not yet defined, though wanting,
trapped in a game of
survival of the fittest
tight ropes
with a suggested narrowness
unable to support all
the membrane of the city was porous
but the color lives
most with me
composition of a love song.
-Cheryl Pope
Santo Domingo 2013
[Source: http://www.ireadthearticle.com/cherylpope]
