With Heart, Letter #010814

Artist Sherrill Roland American, born 1984

Date2022

MediumAcrylic, glass, lightbox (wood, LED lights, aluminum)

Dimensionsheight, width, and depth: 33 1/2 × 48 × 4 1/2 in. (85.1 × 121.9 × 11.4 cm)

ClassificationsTime Based Media

Credit LinePurchased with funds from the William R. Roberson Jr. and Frances M. Roberson Endowed Fund for North Carolina Art

Object number2022.14.1.a-b

On View

On view

Label TextWith Heart, Letter #010814 is part of an ongoing series of lightbox works, wherein Roland uses text from letters he wrote to the mother of his daughter while wrongfully incarcerated before his exoneration in 2015. He layers word upon word to obscure them, effectively protecting the vulnerability expressed throughout their messages.
The lightbox’s soft red glow and font recall the typeface of a digital clock. While there were no clocks in prison, Roland measured the passage of time through writing. He would count the number of pages he could draft when he was allowed out of his cell. The contents of the letters and memories are simultaneously clear yet blurred over time.
[M. Brooks, 2023]Exhibition HistoryRaleigh, NC, North Carolina Museum of Art, "The People's Collection, Reimagined," December 19, 2023-present. Object Rights Statement

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