DINING ROOM
PENNY BRICE
detail from closet interior projection
:: LISTEN ::
Sound from Indigo Dining Room
Indigo Dining Room
The walls of this room are painted using
distemper mix with organic indigo, a traditional
material used by the Gullah and Geechee people
to decorate the interior of their houses. A people
brought as slaves from western Africa, many
identified the indigo plants in their new surround-
ings in coastal Georgia and South Carolina as the
same one that grew in their native countries.
Slave owners in the region exploited the Gullah
and Geechee people’s knowledge of the cultivation
of the indigo plant and the processing of it as a
dye. As a result, it became one of the cash crops
of the region. However, indigo also had a deeper,
spiritual significance to these inhabitants: it was
connected with water as one of the primal forces
of nature and was also believed to ward off
evil spirits.
1502 Habersham Street is located in the Dixon Park
area of Savannah. When it was originally developed,
this was a suburb that was designated as affordable
housing for the city’s African American community.
Even as late as 1994, when the most recent census
was conducted, the area remained 98% African
American. Many of these are descendents of the
Gullah/Geechee nation.
This work aims to reintegrate one aspect of the
traditions of the Gullah and Geechee into suburban
Savannah in order to commemorate the indomitable
spirit of these people.
Sincerest thanks to Queen Quet, chieftess of the
Gullah/Geechee Nation for her participation in this
work and to Adesola K. Falade for the indigo.
Many thanks to all who assisted in the making of
this work especially Lauren Weinger, Brendan Townend,
Matte Wagner, Joshua Gore, Michael Graver, Alfredo Huergo
and Jose Mejia.
For further information on Queen Quet and the
Gullah Geechee Sea Island Coalition, contact:
http://users.aol.com/queenmut/GullGeeCo.html
Adesola K. Falade can be contacted at:
adesolafalade@hotmail.com
or through the Penn Center:
www.penncenter.com
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About the Artist
Currently based in Savannah, Georgia, Penny Brice
is a British born artist whose primary motivation
is the immediate environment in which she is working.
Although she now exhibits regularly in galleries
and other interior spaces much of Brice’s previous
work was site-specific and predominantly based
in the landscape. She has created a number of
large-scale works in the south east of England
many of which involved the participation of members
of the local community. In order to expand the
potential for such community-based art projects,
she founded Bright Art, an organization that
continues to support artists in realizing such works.
In the summer of 2003 she was commissioned by
Firstsite in Colchester UK to create a gallery-
based installation as part of Coast, a major project
involving many internationally renowned artists
and their responses to the coast of North East Essex
in the UK.
Since moving to the USA, Brice has created a
number of works for exhibitions in Savannah.
She has also worked in Germany and Poland.
pennybrice@bellsouth.net
:::
HOMEis a British born artist whose primary motivation
is the immediate environment in which she is working.
Although she now exhibits regularly in galleries
and other interior spaces much of Brice’s previous
work was site-specific and predominantly based
in the landscape. She has created a number of
large-scale works in the south east of England
many of which involved the participation of members
of the local community. In order to expand the
potential for such community-based art projects,
she founded Bright Art, an organization that
continues to support artists in realizing such works.
In the summer of 2003 she was commissioned by
Firstsite in Colchester UK to create a gallery-
based installation as part of Coast, a major project
involving many internationally renowned artists
and their responses to the coast of North East Essex
in the UK.
Since moving to the USA, Brice has created a
number of works for exhibitions in Savannah.
She has also worked in Germany and Poland.
pennybrice@bellsouth.net
:::
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