Seeing Both Sides Scrolls: It Is Rumored: Bloody Point, MD
"It is Rumored:Bloody Point, MD" is inspired by the mystery surrounding an area on the Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake Bay called Bloody Point, the site of many documented and rumored horrific events. It was rumored that dead and dying slaves were tossed from ships at this deepest point of The Bay after the Middle Passage. While that rumored was never documented in this location, unquestionably many thousands of enslaved men and women were transported through these waters. Their stories are lost to Time envisioned as a blue expanse filled with the bounty of the Bay. There are also written records of a hung pirate left to rot at Bloody Point and the slaughter of Native Americans tricked by Colonists with the rouse of a peace meeting. To convey the idea that rumors and the written record alike may obscure facts and sow confusion, I did two paintings and then mounted them back-to-back. Consequently, while looking at one side, one can see the muted impressions of the other narrative image. Suspended by an American eagle doorknocker, the irony of this symbol is clear. The revolving movements of the painting convey that there is neither a front nor a back. The image can be seen from both sides, encouraging many perspectives and feelings.
