Eto Otitigbe Creates Charlottesville Monument

We are extremely proud to announce SLIPPAGE affiliate, Eto Otitigbe, along with an acclaimed team of designers and artists, have transformed a Charlottesville monument at the University of Virginia. The eloquent and thoughtful design has reimagined dedications that have previously been long standing symbols of politically sanctioned hate and institutional racism. The new designs represent an honorarium for forgotten enslaved men and women whose contributions and struggles have long been erased.  The work was detailed and featured in The New York TImes in mid-August.

A stunning image created by Otitigbe is a striking homage to Isabella Gibbons, an enslaved woman that labored at the University of Virginia. After Emancipation, Gibbons went on to become a writer and educator. Otitigbe engraved a rendering of her eyes based on a photograph from the 1800’s on the outward wall of the memorial with etching so subtle that it is only visible in the daylight. 

Otitigbe studied Mechanical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (B.S.) and Stanford University (M.S.) and earned an MFA in Creative Practice from the TransArt Institute. Otitigbe lives and works in Brooklyn, NY where he is an Assistant Professor and Head of Sculpture in the Art Department of Brooklyn College. His designs have enhanced many SLIPPAGE projects, including Monk’s Mood (2002) and CANE (2013). etootitigbe.com