Restless Silence is a diverse media installation by Santa Fe artist Blair Robbins. It consists of eight human heads composed of medical plaster bandage suspended from the ceiling and curated into a conversational arrangement. Yet, there are invisible walls. The artist chose the medium of plaster bandage as it is raw and soulful in appearance and is a material used for mending broken bones. The heads maintain the neutral tone of the medium. The personalities are random, as if picked out of a crowd, with nothing to define their personal leanings. In the center of the room is a black canvas circle with words, primarily written in white with primary color accents. Four sheets of suspended plexiglass symbolize the invisible walls. Ghost-like reflections come and go as visitors walk around the installation. A small drafting desk with a roll of black kraft paper and white markers is positioned in a corner to afford privacy to viewers who wish to voice their thoughts anonymously. As the writings of the viewers accumulate, they will be posted on the walls behind the heads. At the end of the exhibit, the installation becomes a collectible reflection of American history at this point in time.
Restless Silence was inspired by the unsettling times that we live in and have experienced in recent years. No matter what political leaning one has, we can likely agree that the expressions on these heads are ones that we have felt ourselves or have seen on others. We are in a time of invisible walls, where there is little dialog between those of opposing thoughts. Psychologically, it seems that words alone cannot begin to open people’s eyes and ears[1]. Restless Silence is an alternative narrative to spark people’s attention to hear, to see, to ask why. Viewers are encouraged to contribute words of their own, no matter what facet of America they identify with.
Restless Silence premiered on Canyon Road, Santa Fe, NM in fall 2022.
[1] This article inspired the artist’s vision for this installation: The Nature and origins of Misperceptions: Understanding False and Unsupported Beliefs about Politics, D.J. Flynn, Brendan Nyhan, Jason Reifler; journal Advances in Political Psychology, January 2017, Volume 38, Issue S1, pp. 127-150 funded by European Research Council.
