WATERFALL VISION POSTCARDS, 2016
Chinese Ink drawings on vintage postcards of Niagara Falls
4" x 6"
About: This series of drawings was made while creating WATERFALL VISION, 2016. They are Chinese ink on paper drawn directly onto vintage postcards of Niagara Falls, the waterfall that inspired all of my work. The history of the falls is what captivated me, alongside the sheer overwhelming beauty and power of this natural sacred site. It seemed interesting to link the historical narrative as drawings made directly on the postcards. A little history: prior to and during the Civil War, the Niagara River was one of the final destinations before entering Canada for persons escaping slavery in the South. The network of assistance for freedom seekers arriving in Niagara Falls included African Americans who worked as wait staff in the flourishing Niagara Falls hotel and tourism industry. According to J.H. French in 1860, “No places of equal size on the Continent have a greater amount of hotel accommodations than these.” The waiters who assisted freedom seekers on their journey to freedom in Canada made Niagara Falls one of the most important locations of the powerful struggle between slavery and freedom. More about this here.