(tribal drumming)
- What is a soundsuit?
A soundsuit is this sort of wearable sculpture.
It can be very still,
and yet it can be extremely animated.
It's a suit of armor,
a retaliation vestment,
a political statement.
It's a shaman.
(quiet orchestral music)
The first soundsuit came out of frustration
in my sort of concern as a black male in America
feeling devalued, discarded, dismissed.
I was sitting in the park one day,
and I'm just emotionally struggling
with the Rodney King incident.
And I happened to look down at the ground,
and there was this twig; and I looked at that twig
and I thought it was something discarded.
That symbolically represented how I felt as a black male.
This simple twig was the catalyst for my first soundsuit.
And so then I proceeded to collect
all the twigs in the park,
took them back to the studio,
started to build this sculpture,
and the moment that I put it on the body,
it started to move.
It then made sound,
which then led me to this other expression
that was focused around protest.
In order to be heard, you gotta speak louder.
When I made the first soundsuit,
I knew by just looking at it
that it would change my life.
I could tell that this was something other.
And my first exhibition was in '96,
and it was 30 soundsuits;
and they basically sold that entire show within a month.
This was like this overnight sensation, I swear to God.
Today, I'm able to work in this vast arena
working between bronze and wood
and fiber and performance.
In the studio at any given time,
there's always eight assistants
just prepping and getting materials ready.
I'm very particular about how things are built.
It's deliberate; every move is critically decided.
It's a sort of collage of elements coming together.
♪ Walking home ♪
We are in the Park Armory in New York City.
We are in the beginning phases
of a performance titled Upright.
Upright is this performance
that really is this sort of rite of passage
that is accompanied by 12 dancers
and a gospel choir from Harlem.
(choir singing and clapping)
The part of the process of collaboration
is the most gratifying thing that I do.
I like to bring a project to a city
and hire the city to build the project.
There's a lot of work that is gathered from narratives
and stories within the communities.
All of this is all folded into a larger sort of project.
So that's why I do it.
My consciousness being awakened
has allowed me to sort of find purpose.
(slow, emotional music)