The Passage North:
An Installation by Willie Jordan

Customs House Ground Floor Gallery

One of the most interesting spaces in the Old Custom House is the barrel vault located behind the front steps and under the portico. As part of the Museum’s expansion and renovation, this unique room, which has never been open to the public, is now a gallery.

The first exhibition to occupy this area is the work of Willie Jordan, an Erie native and self-taught artist. Jordan has spent over a decade creating fanciful and welcoming environments around and inside his own house in Erie’s Little Italy, primarily using found objects and things found at yard sales. Fred Scruton, a photographer and professor at Edinboro University, has been documenting Jordan’s work for the past two years. He says, “I used to think the term ‘visionary artist’ was a handy title for artists who weren’t academically trained, but it completely describes Willie. He truly has a vision, and his artwork is his faithful reproduction of that vision.”

Jordan says his inspiration for the installation came to him the first time he entered the barrel vault. He says, “I felt like a chill wind, and the hairs stood up on the back of my neck. I felt that I was with people hiding, I could hear horse hooves outside, and the children sniffling. These folks escaped slavery in the south and were on their way to Canada.” Willie has clearly imagined the entire journey of about fifteen men, women, and children, those who had helped them along the way, and the perils they faced. This installation is Jordan’s first public exhibition of his work

Photo by Fred Scruton