Theater of Memory - Ellis Island 1984 - 1989

Editor: So, this is Gwenn Thomas’s "Theater of Memory - Ellis Island." The stark black and white and the long, empty corridor give me a sense of intense solitude. What do you see in this piece? Curator: I see a focus on the materiality of Ellis Island itself. Consider the bricks, the concrete, the window frames – these are the very materials that bore witness to countless immigrant stories, their physical presence a constant throughout that turbulent history. Editor: That's a good point. So it's not just about the space, but what the space is made of? Curator: Precisely. Each brick, each surface, is a testament to the labor and resources poured into this place of transition. It urges us to think about the building itself as a product of, and contributor to, the immigrant experience. Editor: I never considered the materials in that way before. That definitely shifts how I understand the image. Curator: Absolutely. The raw materials used to build this space and the labor required speak volumes.