Scape,

2012

<p> <em>Scape</em> is composed of hundreds of multicolored shoelaces, arranged in low relief on the wall, that depict a ladder descending from or ascending to an aperture above. Its material presence, form, and title evoke the makeshift memorials of tied-together shoes flung over telephone wires; fire escapes; and the possibilities and failures of cities to provide escape and upward mobility. In addition to collective experiences of urban life, <em>Scape</em> seems to reference Ward’s memory of a childhood refuge after he moved from Jamaica to New Jersey at age twelve: “The only place I had that was my own was in the attic. It was this little, tiny space. I remember pulling down this ladder to get to it.” </p>