Description
Liberty Bell, currently on view in
Untold Histories: Revolutions 250 – Hofstra, 2026, January 27, 2026 – July 24, 2026
Liberty Bell reexamines the iconic symbol of freedom through a Native lens, centering the sovereignty and resilience of Indigenous nations, including the Shinnecock community. In this work, Dennis depicts a kneeling Native figure with an ear to the bell, gently knocking it by hand, asking: who is truly listening to liberty, and for whom does it ring? Draping the bell with an American flag, he highlights how national symbols of freedom have often covered or silenced Indigenous histories. While bells were traditionally rung to celebrate independence, Native people were systematically excluded from these promises, their lands taken and their sovereignty denied. The piece confronts this tension between celebration and erasure, asking viewers to consider whose voices have historically been amplified — and whose have been ignored.
Created in a medieval castle overlooking farmland in Italy, the work situates the viewer in a space of reflection, where history, symbol, and landscape intersect. The cracked bell becomes a vessel for ancestral memory; listening and touching it evokes dialogue across generations. By transforming a patriotic icon into a meditation on visibility, resistance, and persistence, Dennis positions Native communities not as echoes of the past but as active participants and witnesses, reclaiming space within the narratives of liberty and independence.
Artwork Details
Title: Liberty Bell
Year: 2025
Edition: 1/10
