At the same time, the profusion of locks and springs recalls fortresses and barricades, tension and force perhaps suggesting a subversive common on the well-known phrase My home is my castle. Pickanninny brings to mind the once widespread use of this derogatory term for black children in the South. Concurrent with this interpretation, the fragmented, broken frame may suggest that any identifying label no matter how handy or seemingly fitting belies the heterogeneous realities of people s lives. But physical proximity does not necessarily translate into closely-knit communities. Slightly altering one s perspective, the viewer discovers that this may indeed be a rigidly segregated neighborhood.
Razor blades separate each house from the adjacent one.
The sharp edges of the blades repel the viewer, recalling eruptions of violence between Americans of Irish and African descent in Boston s segregated neighborhoods during the 1960s. Offering an alternative to the perpetuation of violence and hate, St. Patrick s Day astutely comments in a more subtle way on the phenomenon in which everyday ignorance too often translates into immense devastation of human life. A dark wooden frame delineates a cruciform shape that implies a religious significance. Likewise, the use of blue tinted glass, recalling the stained glass windows of Gothic cathedrals, adds to this initial impression.