Duke faculty Pedro Lasch and UNC faculty Sherrill Roland’s artistic collaborations ask: How does art reclaim our humanity? After spending ten months in prison for a crime he didn’t commit and for which he was exonerated, Roland returned to his art practice not just to heal, but to challenge. Through a fellowship with Lasch’s Social Practice Lab — which brings together scholars, artists, and activists — Roland created the exhibit “Processing Systems: Numbers,” a reckoning with how we see, name and remember those impacted by the criminal justice system. Lasch has spent nearly two decades using mirrors to interrogate the politics of perception and power. His ongoing series, Black Mirror / Espejo Negro, layers iconic European paintings with pre-Columbian sculptures onto darkened glass, letting the mirror reflect and challenge our views on their history. These two artists do not make art that just hangs on walls, but that asks us to reimagine the world in which we live.

Episode Credits

Senior Editor and Producer: Cara August, Trinity Communications Audio Editor and Mixer: Marc Maximov Music Composition: André Mego, T’20 | MMS ‘21 Production Sponsor: Trinity College of Arts & Sciences, Duke University Recording Date and Location: May 2025, Bryan Center Studios