Leigh Davis’ audio installation Vigil engages the power of loss and memory through song. The work is rooted in her membership with the Threshold Choir, a community of women continuing the ancient tradition of bedside singing to the dying. The work is installed in Green-Wood’s Historic Chapel, a sacred space that has provided a place of solace and comfort for those grieving for over a century. Visitors can sit with others or move around at their own leisure. Those listening are encouraged to contemplate the complexity of mourning on both a personal and collective level.
For the past five years, Davis has been creating work that encourages community participation and discussion. She offers opportunities for individuals of various ages, cultural, and spiritual backgrounds to come together and share physical and emotional space. At a time when it is not easy to commune or console one another, Vigil provides an occasion to meditate and reflect on the universal experience of death.