Oryza: Healing Ground

It’s no coincidence that this sculptural installation is reminiscent of a quilt. Enslaved people and their descendants used quilting to share stories that connect the history of their ancestors with the land they were separated from. This cultural expression is reinterpreted in the form of a structure of brass, wood, and textiles that acts as a living archive. Through a custom-built AI system centered on Black histories, the installation generates audiovisual motifs that evoke Black land stewards’ evolving relationship with the soil.

Starting with the West African cultivation of rice, the knowledge of which was carried and disseminated by enslaved farmers, Oryza: Healing Ground follows the trail of Black history to unearth a variety of nearly forgotten stories. The result is a multifaceted picture of Black land stewardship that is currently undergoing a revival in the “Black to the Land” movement—despite the systematic undermining of African American farmers by the US Department of Agriculture.

Drawing us in with animations and storytelling, Oryza presents important evidence demonstrating the resilience, inventiveness and historical influence of Black farmers through the centuries.