There are many perspectives which comprise THE truth. History can be prismatic when it involves many people taking part in the making. How do we capture this history? How do we maintain the integrity of the historical record?

DECENTRALIZE HISTORY

The Artwork I have created is an unlockable NFT. The image will unlock to an invitation to ritual with suggested ingredients and instructions for creating healing space including ancestral veneration and invocations of spirit. The unlockable material (at 60 pages long) is also comprised of prose written in honor of Sojourner Truth- to illuminate aspects of her life that are not often highlighted as well as quoted accounts of how other people who had been enslaved got themselves free.- sustaining themselves along the way. There is also an M4A audio recording of me reading the ritual instructions aloud.

My hope is that this work will inspire witnesses and participants to free themselves from any mental blocks they may be experiencing around personal expansion.

This work is my contribution to the continuance of Sojourner Truth’s legacy.

-Bonita Oliver (French Leave)

Bonita Oliver is a multidisciplinary performance artist and improviser. Her work is about transitions and transformation and is often interactive- meant to be shared in community.
Bonita also performs under the name FRENCH LEAVE when she is presenting work dedicated to ancestral healing and sourcing.

This NFT is made possible with the generous support of NYFA and Technology Gap and was originally showcased in a group exhibition in Voxels at the Bridge ++ gallery.