Mary Lucier

I am currently at work on a mixed media, video/sound installation based on the final text of my late husband, the painter Robert Berlind, called Leaving Earth. The text, which was composed in a diaristic format during his last year and a half, reveals his ongoing thoughts about dying and the sensation of sure but gradual separation of body from earth. The work will take the form of an immersive installation with digital projections and sound, found objects and artifacts, and a series of dark, almost black photographs with fugitive images imbedded. It will center on end-of-life themes in a manner that is capable of stimulating thought and conversation about these important but often ignored issues. Working on the piece now, in this time of lethal pandemic, feels oddly in sync with the moment.

April 9, 2020