Eliza Linley has been commissioned specifically for Pisces Moon Productions' The Exonerated. Her new artwork premiered at the opening and forms an integral part of the play. She also did the painting of the flag used in the show logo above.
In the planning stages for the design of her stage paintings, she wrote:
What I see is a large American flag as a base at the back of the stage - center, in almost-true colors, but a little variation, hand-painted (some purple & turquoise in the blue, variation in the reds, etc.), with a ragged/burnt bottom. In front of that hangs a piece of scrim/chiffon in a tint that washes from blue to maroon - that will be very subtle. Over that are painted opaque black prison bars, so you see the flag through the bars. Since that paint is opaque, the bars never disappear.
Flanking the flag and slightly in front of it are two long banners with a grid of mug shots on them -- actual photos -- but some of the faces are missing, and in their place is blue sky with clouds. As your eye moves to the top, all of the faces are replaced by sky. The grid pattern of the photos echoes the grid of the prison bars through which you see the flag.
These are my ideas - very simple. It's just about the tension between incarceration and freedom. Just as the title of the play does not refer to the death penalty, I think it's better left to the play to wallop the audience with the ultimate injustices described so movingly.
You previously saw her work on display at Pisces Moon Productions' The Last Days of Judas Iscariot. At the theater you saw an installation of Stations of the Cross, kindly on loan from the artist.
Eliza Linley is an Episcopal priest, artist and architect. Her work includes arts ministries and pastoral care, and focusing on the creative center where art and spirit meet. She writes, "this series is not a commission, but has come out of my own my own prayer life. Every year in Holy Week, Christians the world over gather and read the story of Christ's Passion. It's almost comforting that we re-enact the story, year in, year out. I wanted to explore what happens when this core narrative, which transcends its own time and place, is translated into our own vernacular. Not only does the imagery become much more visceral, it introduces more timely issues and calls us to contemplate the world's suffering, God's justice and mercy in the light of our own day."
