ELIZABETH M. WEBB: CAMEO GROUND (CHILDREN OF PARADISE)

01.19.23 - 05.14.23

Elizabeth M. Webb: Cameo Ground (Children of Paradise) uncovers the artist’s family genealogy. The installation evocatively documents a series of interviews that artist and filmmaker Elizabeth M. Webb (American, b. 1989; lives Charlottesville, VA) conducted with a relative. These ceramic pages tell the stories of the 13 children of Paradise, and if they could pass as white or were seen as Black. Webb was not aware until age 18 that her father is of Black lineage. The objects resemble marble, but these works are made of clay — literal earth — referencing the fragility of environment, identity, and communication. Calling to viewers with the ghostly glow of history, the embossed words are intentionally difficult to decipher, but vital to comprehend.

Image: Cameo Ground (Children of Paradise), 2018. porcelain, velvet light boxes