Full Circle is an installation within Detroit's Heidelberg Project, an ongoing art project in an urban area of Detroit with the mission of improving the peoples lives in the neighborhood through art. This particular area had long been breeding grounds for violence, sexual assault and drug use. Abandoned and broken homes discouraged people from wanting to visit the area and promoted the continued use of it for illicit activity. Art produced by The Heidelberg Project has combatted this issue with a dual approach. It empowers the community members still living there, by showing the world that there is still life within this misunderstood neighborhood. As outsiders have become aware of the project, it has evolved into a tourist attraction and furthered the pride for the neighborhood. Both the regained dignity of the neighborhood and influx of positive traffic have helped to repair this neighborhood and Detroit at large.

​

Our installation is composed of two interlocking spirals and stands to embody a foundation for rebirth, while also paying tribute to the scars left in Detroit’s history. It encompasses the entire 30-foot wide empty lot between the two homes that remain standing. One spiral runs counterclockwise, symbolizing entropy, the disorder which Detroit has suffered from and ultimately led to the city’s demise. It coils down from twelve feet high (off the top of one of the houses still standing) and is composed of old car parts, corporate logos, broken furniture and appliances, illustrating a timeline of Detroit’s destruction. A tree stands in the center as a meditative area to ground participants in the present. This reflective area symbolizes a turning point in Detroit’s history. The second spiral curves clockwise, symbolizing rebirth and in turn, the future of Detroit. It starts at the center of the lot and twirls out, composed of plants, bicycle wheels, and windmills, showing that sustainability is the answer for Detroit’s future.  

​