In March of 2015, polymedia artist Eto Otitigbe participated in a performance conceived by Wideman/Davis Dance (a dance duo of principal dancers Tanya Wideman-Davis and Thaddeus Davis). That performance—which grew out of Otitigbe's solo exhibition “Ruptured Silence” presented by 701 CCA (Center for Contemporary Arts) in Columbia, South Carolina, that same month—examined contemporary reactions to racist signs and symbols in public spaces. The exhibition featured a series of sculptures and experimental drawings that were substitutive representations of familiar themes and objects. While in residence at 701 CCA, Otitigbe collaborated with Wideman/Davis to develop the first iteration of “Ruptured Silence: Racist Symbols and Signs,” a media performance installation that explored the deconstruction of the Southern civil rights memento, the Confederate flag.
From his work with Wideman/Davis and on the merit of his exhibition at 701 CCA, Otitigbe was chosen as the Elizabeth M. Marion Visiting Artist at the University of South...