Written in chalk on black staircase wall at XPACE:

she was a woman too rooted in the past, in the land, connected to the earth.
she brought the earth from her land from her home and kept it in a box in a
drawer with her most precious things. within reach. next to her bed.
Comfort. Strength. one small box enough to connect her to all the rest, her
history, her past, her home-country, her home-earth, her kodumaa. and she /
She carried it in her bucket, more and more, endless, never enough yet one
small box holding it all. and it covered her body and it fell on her face
and it soothed her breast /
Her breast. and she wouldn’t let go and she /
She kept moving the earth. Breaking new ground but grounded in the past.
over and over holding the earth and letting it go.
she was a warrior too. she /
She would /
could not forget.

Leena Raudvee is a Toronto-based artist and curator. She has collaborated with Pam Patterson in the creation and presentation of performance and installation for over 20 years.