SU's Wolff Creates 'All Together' Sculpture for Salisbury's Unity Square
By SU Public Relations
SALISBURY, MD---They say the eyes are the window to the soul, but a person’s hands show their story through scars, cuts and the remnants of a life lived, or the potential of a long future ahead.
Bill Wolff, current chair of the Salisbury University Art Department, used casts of the hands of the Salisbury community in his latest sculpture, “All Together,” which has been installed at the new Unity Square, currently under construction in downtown Salisbury.
Commissioned by the Greater Salisbury Committee, and led by Chris Eccelston of Delmarva Veteran Builders, to represent the community, the work features casts of the hands of 218 people representing a wide swath of the community, including SU President Carolyn Ringer Lepre, line workers from Perdue Farms, health care providers from TidalHealth, members of the Greater Salisbury Committee, local religious leaders, Wicomico County teachers and students, and other local individuals.
“My goal from the beginning was to include the broadest representation of community members possible,” said Wolff.
The shape of the piece was very broadly drawn from the map of the Wicomico River, from which the sculpture is just a few hundred yards.
In his goal of featuring hands from across the community, Wolff worked with local organizations and also put out an open call for volunteers to come to SU’s new 3D Arts Building to have their hands cast. He also spent an evening at Salisbury’s monthly 3rd Friday event in summer 2023, allowing anyone interested to be part of the process.
Among the hands in the sculpture is Jim Hill, the former head of sculpture at SU, who created the Harriet Tubman sculpture on campus in the University’s original foundry outside Fulton Hall. “All Together” is the first large-scale piece to be created since the foundry was relocated to the 3-D Arts Building.
“Harriet Tubman, as far as the Art Department goes, was crucial in establishing the foundry at Fulton Hall,” said Wolff. “This piece continues that tradition as the first large-scale project out of this building.”
Several former students assisted Wolff in the creation of the sculpture, which has also been an important teaching tool within his classes over the past year during its final months of construction.
Learn more about SU and opportunities to Make Tomorrow Yours at www.salisbury.edu.