"America needs the ghosts of slavery to remind us of how our nation was really built, said artist," said Marcus Brown whose augmented reality (AR) exhibit has opened in New Orleans.

Augmented reality artist Marcus Brown stands at the Solomon Northup historical market in New Orleans. (LPB photo)

Brown created musically interactive AR installation series known as Slavery Trails to virtually mark areas where enslaved people were held, sold, and worked in the United States.

At the corner of Esplanade Ave and Charters St in New Orleans, Solomon Northup's historical marker stands. A lone brown metal fixture that tells of Northup's 12 years of slavery. Using a digital app on a mobile device, visitors can now stand at the marker and experience a virtual representation of enslaved peoples using present-day Black Americans.

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These virtual sculptures are only visible by smartphone or smart devices at historical marker sites.

The Northup installation opened on January 4, 2023, the same day Solomon Northup gained his freedom nearly 200 years ago.

Brown is a native of New Orleans, sculptor, painter, inventor, musician, and educator. His work includes national and international exhibits and performances in New York City, Berlin, Germany, and Krakow, Poland, the Ogden Museum of Southern Art, The McKenna Museum of African American Art, and The New Orleans Museum of Art.

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America needs the ghosts of slavery to remind…