Christopher Blay
Signals and Satellites to the AncesStars
(2025)
Christopher Blay’s temporary public art project, Signals and Satellites to the AncesStars, is an installation composed of bamboo, dried grass and steel. The work, situated on Maclure Square, forms a dialogue with the layered histories present along the shores of the Wabash River and here in New Harmony. The installation evokes the origin myths of the Osage and Myaamia nations who originally inhabited land in present-day Indiana and believed that their ancestors emerged from the celestial sky and from bodies of water.
The sculpture also pays homage to the early Black pioneers arriving to this area in the early 19th century in what was then the Northwest Territory, as these early homesteaders often navigated trails by starlight. This sculptural installation forms a satellite array made from steel and natural materials that “beams” out layered narratives invoking regional history.
Materials and motifs in the installation span past, present and future, while water, spirit, technology and the celestial emerge as key elements throughout the composition. The central shape of a “Nitien” - an object made of brass that has four knobs - references the artist’s own tribe: the Kru people of present-day Liberia, who believe it to hold the divine power of water. The motif also honors the oral histories and origin traditions of the Kru people who arrived to settle the West African coast from the rough waters. During the Owen - Maclure experiment (1825–1827) in New Harmony, which is currently celebrating its bicentennial, several preeminent scientists and educators arrived here by water on the “Boatload of Knowledge.”
The installation also pays homage to the ‘Golden Record’ sent out in the Voyager 1 & 2 spacecrafts in 1977: a golden disc with data holding a ‘message in a bottle’ from Earth’s residents to potential extraterrestrial life forms. This may be seen as echoing the Harmonie Society’s symbol of the ‘Golden Rose’: a marker of promise taken from early Martin Luther scripture found in the Bible’s Book of Micah that became an enduring symbol from when the Society arrived here in 1814 through to the present day.
Artist Christopher Blay is a Liberian American artist who lives and works in Fort Worth, TX. His ‘Nyesoa, Nitien, and the Alpine Stars,’ video commission, ‘SpLaVCe Ship’ sculpture, and other works are on view through June 8, 2025 at Ballroom Marfa in Marfa, TX. Christopher Blay’s work, The SpLaVCe Ship, received honorable mention at the 2023 Grand Rapids Art Prize, Grand Rapids, MI.
Signals and Satellites to the AncesStars remains on view from May 2025 through August 2025. This project is presented by generous support from the Efroymson Family Fund.