Choreographer, Joanna Haigood, commissioned me to design/construct the set for and collaborate on the creation of “The Monkey and The Devil”.

Taking its title from ethnic slurs, The Monkey and the Devil investigates the rise of contemporary racism rooted in the lasting effects of America’s slave trade. Echoing an earlier time, today’s cultural figures unwittingly rehash old race-based arguments, updated for today’s eyes and ears. Two massive, rotating set pieces (twin halves of a room) represent this duality. Their opposition recalls Abraham Lincoln’s quote, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.” A century and a half later, still grappling with the artifacts of slavery, Americans struggle to re-unite a split house.