Crossing the Color of the Sky

Visual installation by Cici Stevens. Bottle trees have long been used to guide wayward spirits. This African tradition became a part of Southern African-American practice. For some, the bottles petition benevolent, ancestral spirits for protection and good wishes. For others, the blue bottles protect families from tormented and dangerous souls. The spirits are lured by the beguiling radiance of the bottles and like the wind, the moan of these ancestral voices both agitate and calm. Created for the Duke African Repertory Ensemble. Length: 15 minutes

Duke Scholars