A new temporary art installation commemorating the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence was recently unveiled outside the Alexandria Courthouse in Old Town, featuring a reading of the document by prominent Alexandria women.
The sculpture “00:10:00 (The Declaration of Independence)” was unveiled at 520 King Street on Saturday, April 25 and features 600 limestone rulers stacked into a 40-by-48-by-50-inch box. Richmond artist Sandy Williams IV received approval last fall for the installation from the city’s Commission for the Arts. He says each ruler represents the time it takes to read the Declaration.
“Representing the time that it takes to read the Declaration of Independence is a way to consider the magnitude of this text’s importance, its influence, and its invisible presence in our everyday interactions and environments,” Williams said. ““I see my artworks as conversation pieces, like portals or bridges, to thoughts, feelings, or histories that are absent, intangible or might only exist invisibly within space.”
The installation is accompanied by a QR code linking to a recording of prominent Alexandria women reading the document. Readers include Mayor Alyia Gaskins, Del. Gretchen Bulova (D-11th), Alexandria Black History Museum director Audrey Davis, current and former Poet Laureates Christi Donoso and Zeina Azzam, Judges Heidi Meinzer and Rebecca Wade, Move2Learn CEO Brook Sydnor Curran and women’s rights activist Zahra Rahimi.
Readers include Mayor Alyia Gaskins, Del. Gretchen Bulova (D-11), Alexandria Black History Museum director Audrey Davis, Alexandria’s current and former Poet Laureates Christi Donoso and Zeina Azzam, Judges Heidi Meinzer and Rebecca Wade, Move2Learn CEO Brook Sydnor Curran, and women’s rights activist Zahra Rahimi.
“Sandy’s work adds new layers to Alexandria’s ongoing dialogue about its past, present, and future, and its role in the founding of our nation,” said Diane Ruggiero, director of the city’s Office of the Arts and deputy director for the Department of Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities.
Williams made headlines for creating wax candle recreations of famous monuments. One statue — a six-foot-tall likeness of a seated Abraham Lincoln outside a D.C. elementary school — garnered widespread attention when it melted during a heatwave.
The installation will be on display until November.
