“My Creator, I am now willing that You should have all of me, good and bad. I pray that You now remove from me every single defect of character which stands in the way of my usefulness to You and my fellows. Grant me strength, as I go out from here, to do Your bidding. Amen.”

-The Seventh Step Prayer, Alcoholics Anonymous

Step 7: Black Holes is a black sand public installation in the Icelandic town of Eyrarbakki that uses sand from the local beaches combined with laborious ritual to explore identity, addiction, and release.

This project was created during the 2020 Saga Residency, a collaborative residency in Iceland designed for diverse and impact-driven artists. A cohort of artists from around the world explored the theme of “Doing Time” and brought creative programming to the local prison for the first time. 

The prison in Eyrarbakki makes up one sixth of the town’s population with 83 prisoners. After learning the majority of the prison attended weekly AA meetings, Darlene explored the conceptual connection to black holes, the unknown, and recovery. In working with step 7, which humbly asks a Higher Power to remove our shortcomings, we begin to understand that sometimes we hang onto habits and behaviors that are familiar, even when those parts of us no longer serve us.

The circular shape of each work connected the shape of a black hole, the twelve hours on a clock face and the twelve steps of recovery. Darlene created multiple black holes throughout the town, ranging from 3 to 15 feet in diameter, as a reverent and quiet place where viewers are invited to mentally release those parts of Self that no longer serve us and step into the unknown space of healing.

The artist and fellow Saga residents moved hundreds of pounds of sand from the beach throughout the town and into the prison. The intense physical labor aimed to mirror the intensity of the emotional work of letting go and releasing the weight of the past.

Darlene discussed Step 7 with the prisoners and invited them to participate in this ritual release through a small group meditation around a black hole created in the center of the prison’s courtyard. The black holes will remain throughout the town as long as the wind allows.

Eternity is there to be touched in each moment. both the sun and moon, all the stars and all the black holes, can nestle comfortably inside a tiny grain of sand.

-Thich Nhat Hahn, Inside the Now