77 Minutes
77 Minutes is a socially engaged project highlighting the many lives devastated by the shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, on May 24, 2022.
The photographic series features both still lives and portraits of the Uvalde families, who titled the project “77 Minutes.” The Uvalde family members wanted to reference the unbearable period of time that each spent waiting for news of loved ones trapped inside the school - from 11:33 AM until 12:50 PM, when the shooter was killed. These minutes were felt by both those waiting outside the elementary school – and inside – as the shooter made his way through the halls, connecting them.
The color photographs framed in floating pine boxes feature the shoes worn by each child at the time of death, serving as the brute reality of this tragic event. The shoes are paired with intimate, black and white portraits of the family holding the familiar items. Printed on sheer fabric, the family portraits reveal their vulnerability, resilience, and anger, as these parents hold a shared grief, and possibly through participation and community, hope for the future.
The ripple effects of this event affected more than the 21 lives lost. This tragedy forever changed the lives of those still living, affecting those near and dear as well as the population at large, looking on. Through long-term community engagement with the victims’ families and with the survivors, Sudhoff aims to witness and understand the full impact of the massacre and the role of art in helping communities process grief, establish connection and community, and enact change.
Related Press:
View Installation:
Canopy Projects
