The Ladder

By Charles Stewart, 2016

24 ft tall

Wooden structure painted

The ladder is often used as a metaphor for life.  In this performance piece,  I built a ladder with the first rung representing birth. The rest of the rungs (significant life events) were chosen one at a time by the audience at random as they were hidden from sight.  These significant occurrences  included both positive and negative events to include demographics, family education, career, health or any kind of individual circumstances.  I hammered these events onto the rails as they were received.  Finally,  I revealed the final rung, that  being death, and hammered it into position  before hoisting the ladder to an upright position.  If performed again this piece would yield different results, symbolizing how every individual's life path is different.