MARYLAND LYNCHING MEMORIAL

This exhibition presents the history of extrajudicial violence and racial terror that took place (and still takes place) in the state of Maryland.

Please note: Documentation for this exhibition contains graphic and disturbing imagery. Please proceed with care.

Developed in collaboration with the Maryland Lynching Memorial Project, this interactive at the Reginald F. Lewis Museum presents soil collected from lynching sites inside glass vessels in front of a projection wall. I was brought on as a multimedia and interactive designer, under the creative direction of Quatrefoil Associates, to create a projected animation that combined haunting video compositions, archival imagery, and soundscapes. I also worked to create an interactive map of maryland activated by visitor engagement with the vessels, displaying the site of the lynching and revealing biographical information about each victim.

Project Credits

    • Multimedia: Zoe McCarthy

    • Graphic Design: Cole Breeding

    • 3D Design: Paloma Olais

    • Creative Direction: Michael Burns and Roula Tsapalas

    • Project Management: Manjit Kingra and Blair Chrisholm

    • Sensors and Hardware: Emily Quan and Bernhard Mueller

    • Programming: Jennifer Kubina

    • Terri Freeman

    • Carole Johnson

    • Robert Parker

    • Imani Haynes

    • Terry Taylor

    • Toni Wynn

    • Lillian Cheeks

    • Will Schwarz

    • Iris Barnes

    • Nicholas Creary

    • Terry Scott

Interactive Map

At the center of the exhibition is an interactive map of Maryland that responds to visitor engagement with soil vessels labeled with the names of lynching victims. When a vessel is touched, the projection highlights the corresponding location on the map, accompanied by biographical details about the individual. This interface makes visible the geographic spread of racial terror across the state, transforming abstract history into a series of specific, personal stories. By linking physical artifacts of soil with digital representation, the map underscores both the breadth of violence and the humanity of those who endured it.

Projection

Complementing the map is a looping projection that layers archival photographs, historical news clippings, and original media into an evocative visual composition. Rather than presenting factual details alone, the animation conveys the atmosphere and emotional weight of racial terror, mirroring the broader themes of the exhibition. Its pacing follows the arc of Maryland’s history—from the roots of white supremacy to the legacies of lynching still visible today—drawing attention to the complicity of institutions, the resilience of Black communities, and the ongoing struggle against systemic violence. The result is a somber yet reflective space, offering visitors both a historical lens and a site for grief, recognition, and dialogue. An early goal for the interactive outlined by the Lewis team was to “comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable”. (A quote from Finley Peter Dunne.)

The projected animation extends the exhibition’s themes through a haunting, atmospheric lens, pairing archival photographs, news clippings, and original compositions to evoke the lived realities of racial terror. While the soil vessels and map ground the experience in the specific names, dates, and places of Maryland’s lynching victims, the video situates these stories within the larger history of white supremacy, the Great Migration, and the use of racial violence to enforce fear. It also highlights the complicity of law enforcement, the spectacle of mob violence, and the vital counter-narratives advanced by the Black press. Developed in consultation with scholarly experts to ensure historical accuracy, the piece creates space for grief and recognition, acknowledges the lasting impact on families and communities, and draws clear connections between Maryland’s history of lynching and the ongoing realities of racial violence in the present.

This exhibition is permanently on view at the Reginald F. Lewis Museum in Baltimore.