in a barrel, ButYouDontWannaDie
format: two-channel installation/found objects
length: 25-minute loop
"In this video installation, Yusef Ferguson excavates his own family archive to examine his own relationship to communities of place and faith. Two circular frames juxtapose footage from the paternal, Christian side of Ferguson's family and the maternal, Muslim side. The dual projection draws on the legend of Armah ibn Abjar, or Najashi, a seventh-century Christian king who offered protection to Muslims fleeing to Abyssinia. Justifying his decision to protect those of another faith, Najashi likened Christianity and Islam to two rays of light that appear separate as they pass through cracks in a ceiling, yet emanate from the same sun."
One of six works selected in the Greater Columbus Visual Artists Exhibition at the Columbus Museum of Art. Sponsored by the Greater Columbus Artist Council.