As part of an area-wide festival called (re)FOCUS2024 celebrating women artists, Philadelphia Sculptors and the Artfronts Partnership worked with local property owners to enable artists to transform vacant storefronts into artworks.

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Photographer Blaise Tobia and I collaborated on a large installation titled Pillars of Grace at 28 North 3rd Street. The Italianate architecture proved perfect for my interest in how the the female body relates to the built environment. Built in 1857 by architect Stephen D. Button, the building has arches, a marble façade and transom windows across the top. It is currently listed in the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places.

 

We used three types of imagery: caryatids, columns and faces, which in architectural terms are called mascarons.

 

Our installation is meant to combine strength with grace. Caryatids literally bear the weight of architecture. We

paired two of them with their column counterparts. The other two stand confidently facing each other. They are overlaid onto William Morris floral patterns, which exude life and fecundity. Six mascaron faces gaze down from the transoms, silently watching over passersby.

 

Inkjet printed on polypropylene, all the figures are close to life-size. Visible 24 hours a day, the windows are lit by LED strips.