This experiential installation was one year in the making and consisted of visual and audio components. It was inspired by an interview I conducted with my father over Thanksgiving 2015 as part of NPR’s "Great American Listen" and his answer to the question, "What do you think happens when we die?" It is interesting that “The Great Beyond” was presented in July 2020, a time when everyone was thinking about death far more than usual, mostly how to avoid it, with our attention drawn to the latest tally from the pandemic and the latest murder of a black person at the hands of police. Yet we still don't talk about what happens after we die.
Thank you to Frank May of M Galleries and everyone who contributed to this project, visited the exhibition, and joined the conversation. I owe a special debt of gratitude to those dared to share and record their personal thoughts on something we all think about, or try not to think about, but rarely discuss: Camran Bastien, Sarah Bell, Katrina Bello, Gabriel and Susan Bleignier, Serena Bocchino, Berendina Buist, David Croll, Jonah Duckworth, Vonda Givens, Suzan Globus , Martha Land, Elizabeth Lazaroff, Mary Lev, Fred Lowe, Naomi Neirenberg, Grace Graupe Pillard, Clara Porter, James Porter, Katie Porter, Nora Pugliese, Nisa Rauschenberg, Judy Serbinski, Wes Sherman, Lena Shiffman, Joan Sonnenfeld, Robin Tewes, June Wilson, and others who wish to remain anonymous.