Artwork title : Harriet Jacobs: Bedrest Study

This installation invites visitors to enter the space enclosed by brightly colored Nigerian wax fabrics and lie down on a mat with their head on a pillow. As the participant rests, they hear the voice of the artist reading quotes from the autobiography of Harriet Jacobs, an African American woman who escaped from slavery in the U.S. state of North Carolina in the mid 1800s. During the escape, Jacobs spent 7 years hiding in a small attic and primarily sitting or lying down. This experience is reflective of a method used by scientists to study the impact of the microgravity environment on astronauts living in space. Like astronauts, Harriet Jacobs recognized the need to perform regular exercise to maintain the ability to walk. Thus, Jacobs performed what scientists call an “analog space mission,” simulating the life of astronauts as she innovatively endured an enclosed space, extreme temperatures, poor air quality and consistent fear of discovery. After escaping slavery and working as an abolitionist and community leader, Jacobs eventually died and was buried in the famous Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts - which is located only 2 miles from my home. Between quotes from Jacobs book, the installation is interrupted with audio updates from an imagined NASA Television Broadcast for the US-European Cassini Huygens mission that sent a satellite to orbit the planet Saturn after a journey of 7 years.