In this movie excerpt Alfredo Jaar talks about the context of his work The Silence of Nduwayezu that is part of the Rwanda Project and recalls the story of Nduwayezu.
This video is excerpted from the documentary series Art in the Twenty-First Century (PBS).
Duration: 1:36
Who is Nduwayezu? Can you tell us more about his situation? Why did you decide to represent only his eyes in this work?
JAAR:
I visited a refugee camp and Nduwayezu was seated on the stairs of a door. I discovered very quickly that all these kids were orphans that had witnessed how their parents were killed. Nduwayezu actually saw his mother and father killed with machetes. His reaction was to remain silent for approximately four weeks. He couldn’t speak. His eyes were the saddest eyes I had ever seen, so I wanted to represent that and speak about his silence—because his silence refers to the silence of the world community that let this happen.
Excerpt from an interview between Art:21 and Alfredo Jaar: The Rwanda Project
The Rwanda Project:
The Silence of Nduwayezu
by Alfredo Jaar
Design, fabrication and installation of the light table by Mark Baumgartner Studio.
Pictures of the fabrication process In The Studio at the bottom of the page.
Table Size: 217-3/4” W x 143” D x 36” H
553.1 cm W x 363.2 cm D x 91.4 cm H
Materials: Aluminum, MDF, Plexiglas, stainless steel hardware, electronic ballast, fluorescent light bulbs, ventilators
Installation View
Photo: Mark Baumgartner
1 million slides, light table, magnifiers, and illuminated wall text.
Detail View
Photo: Mark Baumgartner
Detail View
Photo: Mark Baumgartner
