Tour is an audio-video installation that embarks on a global journey contemplating former genocide sites, provoking the question of how we can sustain the memory of that which has become invisible. Events that occurred over the last century retain heat, as some victims and perpetrators are still alive, and justice, truth, and reconciliation processes are still underway. When we look, what do we not see? A history of human atrocities can become easily erased and absorbed back into the land. But the brutal facts remain. It is only through the persistent retelling of past events that we keep these histories alive, even as acts of atrocity continue to be perpetrated. In Tour, four instances of genocide are “toured” and memorialized: Murambi, Rwanda (April 16–22, 1994), Wounded Knee, United States (December 29, 1890), Choeung Ek, Cambodia (April 17, 1975–January 7, 1979), Treblinka, Poland (July 23, 1942–October 19, 1943). As the viewer traverses the land, what initially appear as harmless, even banal, details of local flora take on a haunting, sorrowful presence as the audio unfolds and the location is revealed. The audio is based on hummed and chanted interpretations of four traditional lullabies that are specific to each cultural location: Kinyarwanda, Lakota, Khmer, Yiddish. As we listen, we identify these lullabies as those that may have been sung and heard over generations by the victims of these genocides. The fact of the matter is that, in some of the contexts, these were also crooned by the perpetrators.

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Information obtained from Millie Chen’s website.