Heart of Oak
is a two channel video and sound piece that investigates the complex coalescence of colonialism, immigration and environmental concerns surrounding Boston’s Chelsea Creek.
In May 1775, the creek was the sight of Battle of Noddles Island, the earliest victory by the American provincial forces against the British Navy, culminating with the burning of the British ship, Diana. The creek also runs through the largest immigrant community in Boston where over fifty-eight percent of residents were born outside the United States.
“Heart of Oak”, refers to a British naval anthem, whose melody is the same as “The Liberty Song” (or “Massachusetts Song of Liberty); one of the earliest songs of the American revolution.
Reflecting the duality embedded in both the songs and the creek’s history, the piece comprises two videos, meant to be played simultaneously, sharing a single body of sound. The first video is an observational piece focused on the present day community along the creek. The second is a speculative, para-historical piece set against the same landscape. Drawing on tropes of horror and AI generated imagery, it follows two colonial re-enactor ghosts doomed to perpetual reenactment of a glorified fiction of the past.
Click here for lyrics and information about the songs “Heart of Oak” and “The Liberty Song” referred to above.
Run time: 4 minutes, 55 seconds
In May 1775, the creek was the sight of Battle of Noddles Island, the earliest victory by the American provincial forces against the British Navy, culminating with the burning of the British ship, Diana. The creek also runs through the largest immigrant community in Boston where over fifty-eight percent of residents were born outside the United States.
“Heart of Oak”, refers to a British naval anthem, whose melody is the same as “The Liberty Song” (or “Massachusetts Song of Liberty); one of the earliest songs of the American revolution.
Reflecting the duality embedded in both the songs and the creek’s history, the piece comprises two videos, meant to be played simultaneously, sharing a single body of sound. The first video is an observational piece focused on the present day community along the creek. The second is a speculative, para-historical piece set against the same landscape. Drawing on tropes of horror and AI generated imagery, it follows two colonial re-enactor ghosts doomed to perpetual reenactment of a glorified fiction of the past.
Click here for lyrics and information about the songs “Heart of Oak” and “The Liberty Song” referred to above.
Run time: 4 minutes, 55 seconds
Chelsea Creek, May 2025