ABOUT THE ART: TRIAL OF MEMORIES
Trial Of Memories
Year: 2020, 2022
Medium: Reupholstered chair, plaster, wood, metal, fiber glass resin, acrylic paint, bronze wax, ink
Dimensions: 4.5 ft x 3.5 ft x 2ft
Trial of Memories
By Danisha Edwards
"Trial of Memories" is a sculptural documentation of one of my visions—a dream that left a lasting imprint on my spirit and creative process.
In the dream, I was sitting at a table surrounded by peers. Yet, despite being physically present, I felt unseen. Every time I spoke, my voice seemed to disappear into the air—no one looked my way, no one responded. They continued their conversations, laughing, engaging with each other as if I wasn’t even there. It was a familiar ache—the kind that comes from being overlooked in spaces you’re told you belong to.
Then something shifted.
My chair suddenly tipped back, and I fell—not onto the ground, but into the ocean. I wasn’t drowning. Instead, I was being lifted and carried by the water, as if it knew exactly where I needed to go. Beneath the surface, flames began to approach me. The water and fire coexisted in a way that defied the laws of this world. As the flames moved through me, I wasn’t burned—but I changed. I felt transformed.
This moment became the foundation of Trial of Memories. The sculpture features a French country-style chair—symbolizing tradition, expectation, and position—being pulled backward by a sea of hands, cast from my own. Each hand reaches from a resin-based fluid grave, representing past lives, memories, and spirits that refuse to remain buried. The hands tug at the chair, pulling it into the symbolic ocean—an emotional and ancestral realm where transformation takes place.
This piece is my way of putting that moment on trial.
I created Trial of Memories not only to honor the vision but to seek deeper meaning. It is my way of reaching out to elders and spiritual guides in my community, asking: What am I missing? What is the lesson hidden in the moment of being ignored, in the fall, in the water, in the flames that didn’t burn but still changed me?
The work is both testimony and question. It is a call for reflection, for interpretation, for dialogue. A trial—not of guilt or innocence—but of meaning, memory, and spiritual inheritance.
Acknowledgement (2012): Honoring the Past to Shape the Future
About the art
Acknowledgement, 2012, Danisha Edwards
Acknowledgement was created as a tribute — a quiet yet powerful reminder of the importance of knowing where we come from. Too often, we move through life without pausing to honor the ones who came before us. Our ancestors, with their sacrifices, wisdom, and struggles, shaped the very ground we stand on. Acknowledgement invites viewers to reflect on this truth.
The painted panels depict a familiar, sacred place: the riverbank in Madison, Florida, where my father’s side of the family fished, hunted, and gathered. This land holds memories of roots, resilience, and heritage — a connection to generations who lived in harmony with this natural world. The fallen tree across the water serves as both a bridge and a barrier, symbolizing the passage of time and the threads that bind us to our past.
In front of the painted landscape stands a welded metal pencil rod sculpture — a figure I call Ancestor. And yet, at first glance, many pass by without seeing it. Like our own histories, the form is easy to miss unless we pause, look back, and truly acknowledge what — and who — is there. To see the Ancestor requires intention. It asks the viewer to stop, seek, and engage — just as we must do in life if we wish to understand our past and, in turn, shape our future.
Glass shards, beads, seashells, and cast metals scatter beneath the structure, catching the light like fragments of memory. These elements honor the fragility and strength of what endures across time.
