"Mapping Sampsonia" is based on the people, the place, and the history of an alley, Sampsonia Way, where Samuels has lived since 1980.   It is an 828-foot long street dating back to the eighteenth century when it was populated by first generation Americans from Europe. Over the years the surface has been marked by the accumulation of cracks and potholes that trace the archaeology of the alley.

Ten years ago Samuels began systematically collecting comments that people made to her as she walked along the alley. She subsequently conducted audio taped interviews of Sampsonia's residents.   Samuels supplemented this oral history with the written history of the alley and the origins of its residents.

Over a 6-month period, Samuels photographed the roadbed of Sampsonia Way. These 5,796 digital photos were electronically assembled to produce a 40-foot Iris print depicting the alley's surface in minute topographical detail. Samuels covered the Iris print with glass overlays etched with parts of her Sampsonia Way archive--impromptu comments of passers-by, excerpts from interviews with current and former residents, historical information, and thoughts about passageways--as if they were annotations on a map.  

"Mapping Sampsonia" draws upon the rich history of this alley and uses the voices and experiences of its residents to create a visual recollection of her neighborhood. A common theme among Samuels' work is to create form from history and memory.

This exhibition coincides with the unveiling of "Lines of Sight" Samuels' commission for Brown University. She created a two-story glass pedestrian bridge joining two new Life Sciences buildings, a poetry bridge with hand-engraved text to join science to the arts.

For further information, please contact the gallery.