“Dominoes have a rich history spanning a multitude of languages, people and continents. Originating in China untold centuries ago, evidence of dominoes in various European countries has been found dating back to the 18th century; they remain extremely popular throughout African diaspora and Latin American. Even in an increasing digital age, dominoes are a timeless pastime. In my own travels I have seen people “slapping bones” on tables world wide – from the San Francisco Bay Area to Cuba and from the Caribbean islands to West Africa.

Because of their universality and their association with enjoyable and shared activity, dominoes hold a wealth of po-tential meaning and association for the viewer. Their simple and iconic design transcends cultural barriers and speaks of gamesmanship, chance, strategy and the tantalizing promise of victory. My three-dimensional works often use dramatic changes in scale and recontextualization to reveal how unassuming, everyday objects can be extraordinary repositories of memory, history and personal meaning. The dominoes speak to what we hold in common regardless of socioeconomic and cultural differences. The royal color red will catch the eye and stimulate the imagination to reconsider a familiar object; through this consideration, forgotten histories and new avenues of understanding may be revealed and illuminated” — Mildred Howard on the global culture of dominoes.