Kites on Kites: Shadow to Sky is a multimedia installation that combines writing, publication, print, sculpture, video, and sound. It is an ongoing collaborative project between Detroit artist-activist collective Complex Movements and Detroit activist Siwatu-Salama Ra. This project iteration was exhibited at the Leonard Pearlstein Gallery in Philadelphia as part of Assemblage in 2019.

For this installation, Siwatu’s written kites (prison messages) that she sent from prison are superimposed on the sculptural form of box kites traditionally flown in the sky. Video footage includes Siwatu’s phone message to the 2018 Detroit Kite Festival and her first reactions to witnessing the kites after her release from prison.

The concept is inspired by Siwatu’s words and experiences while unjustly incarcerated for defending herself, her mother, and her two-year-old daughter. Siwatu was imprisoned while pregnant and forced to give birth under the watch of armed prison guards. Following the construction of the first two kites, she was released on pending bond appeal and continues to fight for her freedom as the work develops. 

The project aims to amplify Siwatu’s reflective writings while imprisoned, as well as her continued advocacy for the rights of incarcerated pregnant mothers, women, parents, and caregivers. Ultimately it will be an immersive performance/installation that brings to life the surreal, spiritual, and fantastical worlds she experienced while coping with her harsh reality. In parallel with this project, a documentary chronicling her experiences is being produced in collaboration with The Detroit News and The Siwatu Freedom Team.

Kites on Kites: Shadow to Sky is an evolving body of work by Complex Movements linking art, advocacy, and the intersections between real estate development and the prison industrial complex. The efforts of the overall project led by the Siwatu Freedom team have successfully impacted Michigan State legislation and prison policy in the treatment of incarcerated mothers. 

Siwatu-Salama Ra is an environmental and racial justice activist from Detroit, Michigan.