Historic Congressional Cemetery is thrilled to announce a new, temporary public art installation by artist Tommy Bobo, The Landscape Listens. Please join us for the opening reception with the artist, curator, and cemetery staff on Thursday, March 28th, 6-8pm.

The installation will be on view to the public March 28-June 30, 2024 at the end of our 9/11 Memorial Trail, just past the Totem Poles.

The event is free to attend and reservations are not required. If you plan to attend, we request that you please RSVP below.

About the Installation

Aligning with the peak blooms of Congressional’s three dozen cherry blossom trees, Washington D.C.-based artist Tommy Bobo, in conjunction with Congressional Cemetery, will present a site-specific sculptural installation at a memorial site located in the historic acreage of the cemetery in the style of a ‘wind phone’.

A wind phone, or a kaze no denwa (風の電話 ), is a type of art installation originally conceived of by Itaru Sasaki in his garden in Otsuchi, Japan. It offers a point of connection to speak to those dwelling in otherworldly planes, creating a space for mourning and remembrance.

In The Landscape Listens, a small meadow of discrete mirrored sculptures will float inches off the ground and veil the cemetery’s landscape. Each element is designed to kinetically respond to air currents in the environment. The reflective pools of Bobo’s installation act as a vehicle to carry remembrances across the wind, ferrying the words spoken into the wind phone to people beyond. The Landscape Listens is curated by Ashley Molese, Historic Congressional Cemetery’s inaugural Curator-in-Residence.