Deity of the Circle is an installation and performance for three voices, clarinet, and electronics co-created by Armond Dorsey, Bonita Oliver, and Eli Berman.
Worship practices from African and Jewish diasporas inform the design of unique visual and musical storytelling objects made of metal, wood, fabric, microphones, speakers, and electrical circuits. A composite sound sculpture made of PVC and EMT pipes serves as an installation piece for the exhibit.
According to the trio, “Through our exhibition and performance, we hybridize new worship rituals for collectively grieving our historical traumas while illuminating the multidimensionality and timelessness of our human desire to connect with the past and future through cyclical time.”
“The project encourages audiences to pause, breathe, and reflect, exploring how ancient wisdom can help us navigate modern technological changes,” said artist Bonita Oliver.
Dorsey, Oliver, and Berman are the winners of the 2024–2025 David C. and Thelma G. Driskell Award for Creative Excellence. This award allows emerging artists or scholars to work with The Driskell Center’s collections and archives in self-directed research leading to the creation of new artistic work or scholarship. Now in its third cycle, the award this year called for a collaborative team to conduct a low-residency/remote fellowship culminating in a gallery installation and public program.
This project is made possible, in part, by The Thompson Award for Artistic Excellence in the Visual Arts Fund.
It is also supported by the University of Maryland's Arts for All initiative, the Meyerhoff Center for Jewish Studies, and the Department of African American and Africana Studies.
