As a memory worker, Lindley explores what has been abandoned, erased, silenced or distorted in our individual and collective consciousness. Moved by the non-indictments of the officers responsible for the deaths of Eric Garner and Michael Brown in 2014, Lindley developed “This Ain’t A Eulogy: A Ritual for Re-Membering.” This performance based work served as the precursor for “The Bag Lady Manifesta” - an interdisciplinary project that combines ritual, performance, film and installation.

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The Bag Lady is a primordial figure who communes with the ancestors and emerges from the rubble of forgotten histories. Through this central figure, Lindley draws parallels between discarded materials and the violent treatment of Black people in the United States. Rooting her creative process in research about Black lives that have been stolen, she transforms what has been considered disposable into something sacred.

Can we grow gardens out of graves? How can we recycle the energy of protest, rage and grief into creating a world where indeed Black Lives Matter? What is the role of memory in our movement building work? And who will be responsible for this labor? These are the questions that haunt the work of visual and performance artist Taja Lindley.

Text by Carre Adams and Taja Lindley for "Re-Membering is the Responsibility" of the Living exhibition at the George Washington Carver Museum, Austin, Texas, 2019.

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To view images of the installation, visit the installation gallery page.

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To view excerpts of the performance films that premiered in the exhibition, see below.