0:04 wandering throug hthe colonial center of Santo Domingo
0:15 I was struck by the beauty of the patterned floor tiles, found in many of the historial buildings
0:21 I thought about each tile as a sort of keeper of memories almost hearing the generations of families laughing, dancing and growing together
0:33 Upon researching the history of the tiles I learned that most of these floors were being torn up during remodeling
0:42and that they are a rare tile only produced in three locations globally, Santo Domingo being one of them.
0:49 Contacting the tile company at Gaio Industrial, I was given the opportunity to visit the factory, to learn the history, process and view original patterns found throughout the city
0:53 In response to this research, I returned to the idea of memory as something we each carry
0:59 and I thought about what memories Dominicans will bring with them to the United States.
1:01 Using one of the original tiles patterns
1:04 I created a floor plan that was stenciled on the wall at the U.S. embassy
1:10 I then selected only fragments of the floor to gold leaf
1:14 which created fragments of various sizes, almost as if the rest was worn away with time
1:17 for me this work thinks about those memories Dominicans will bring with them to the United States
1:27 laughing, dancing and loving with their family and friends.
1:31 Special Thanks to Cheryl Pope for her audio commentary, images and installation.