For this site specific project, Wave Hill’s history acted as the principal departure point. Looking for traces of past residents to re-imagine and reveal, he was taken by the relationship between the Clemenses. During the time that Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) and his wife Olivia lived at Wave Hill House (1901-03), Olivia was ill and required "quiet seclusion" to regain her health. Their separation galvanized my interest and inspired a series objects and drawings that McQueen is presenting as “found field notes." These belong to an imagined narrative in which husband and wife construct elaborate mechanisms to communicate, thereby maintaining their intimacy despite Olivia's prescribed isolation.
*The title of the project and for each individual piece are quotes from correspondence between Samuel and Olivia Clemens during her prescrived "seclusion."
"...then I could hear you clear your throat and it would be such a joy to feel you near."
"Clemens commissioned the Edison Company to produce 15 gramophone horns and installed them into his favorite tree. Here he could sit, write and, on better days, hear his Olivia's afternoon music lessons."
"…the flooding sunshine, the fire of big logs, the white expanse of cushioned snow and the incomparable
river."
The use of a double-wired chandelier and sconces in Olivia Clemens’s sickroom enabled her to act as a "real-time" editor for Twain. While he worked, she would see the words flicker across her room and write him feedback for his later use. Visitors to the gallery are invited to type their own messages and watch the lights whisper and dance.
"…the joy-light in one’s eyes and one’s own heart on the skewer."
In 1902, Samuel Clemens had all of the mirrors in Wave Hill House removed and installed into specific trees around the estate. These mirrors were specifically arranged by Samuel Clemens to create optical “pathways.” Using telescopes, Samuel and Olivia could meet at designated times.
The moments when Samuel could catch glimpses of his wife Olivia became his favorite time of day as they allowed him to see “the light in your [her] eyes,” despite their prescribed separation.
