REAL TALK: 5 CARDS FOR LIBERATION
(An Activation of The Confluence Tarot)
Immersive Installation, Pacific Northwest College of Art, Portland, OR, 2025
This multisensory installation blends decolonial tarot, video, sound, scent, and altar-as-sculpture, rooted in the Mississippi River Valley landscape. Guests receive a zine-style tarot booklet, enter a scented space with a looping soundtrack, and take a seat at the Querent’s table. A five-card video reading from The Confluence Tarot plays on loop, welcoming each visitor.
A sculptural altar of ritual objects and a glowing neon Tower card transform the space into a living offering. The work explores transformation, accountability, spirituality, and healing, serving as a portal for ancestral presence, clarity, grief, transformation and collective liberation.
Installation View: A softly lit room glows with purple light. On the left, a neon sign reads “Psychic Tarot” above a velvet-draped table set with a crystal ball, taper candles, and vases of fresh flowers. A pink chair faces a monitor displaying a looping tarot reading. On the right, a large Tower tarot card print hangs above a floor altar arranged with a patterned cloth. The altar includes Olde English bottles, citrus fruits, tarot cards, fresh flowers, and an array of ritual objects and offerings. Plush black carpet grounds the space.
Installation View 2: A Querent sits at a velvet-covered table, watching a video tarot reading beneath a neon “Psychic Tarot” sign. To the right, a large Tower card print hangs above a floor altar. The room is bathed in purple light and grounded by plush black carpet, creating a space for intimacy and reflection.
Querent Experience Detail View: A Querent sits at a velvet-covered table, with a crystal ball, taper candles and vases of fresh cut flowers, watching a video tarot reading beneath a neon “Psychic Tarot” sign. The room is bathed in purple light.
The Tower Card & Altar Detail View: An altar table filled with candles, flowers, 40 oz bottles, oranges, candies, flowers, dried herbs, tarot cards, and other symbolic objects sits beneath a large artwork of a burning plantation titled The Tower. The space glows purple, evoking ritual, destruction, and spiritual transformation.
Altar Detail View: Under magenta light, an altar holds Olde English bottles, cigarettes, Florida Water, candles, candies, derided herbs, ancestor money, flowers, oranges, and ritual items like hair picks, tarot cards, and an Annabelle doll. Everyday Black cultural objects merge with spiritual symbolism in this sacred, richly layered offering.
Entrance View: A doorway is draped with black velvet curtains and topped by a bright red neon sign reading “TAROT.” To the left of the entrance, a small white pedestal is covered with a black-and-white bandana that holds three jars of fresh flowers, and zines in a crystal candy dish. The white gallery walls and light wood flooring contrast with the dark, enclosed entrance, signaling a shift into a private, immersive space.
Images Courtesy of Mario Gallucci