About the Work

250 Years from Mr. Freedman is a solo exhibition by Fletcher Williams III in conjunction with the 250th anniversary of the United States.

The exhibition presents a series of wall reliefs created from the tin roof of a burned Freedom Cottage in Charleston, South Carolina. The works continue the chronicle of Mr. Freedman, whose life has spanned centuries and whose accounts move between Charleston and the American South. Williams draws from Revolutionary-era history, Black Loyalist narratives, and Lowcountry folklore and traditions to shape each artwork into an entry in Mr. Freedman's life and legacy. Motifs referencing regional mythology, national symbolism, and the vernacular landscape of the Lowcountry appear throughout the works.

250 Years from Mr. Freedman places Mr. Freedman and his annual July 4th celebration at the center of the United States semiquincentennial.

The exhibition is accompanied by Eve of July 4th, a supporting narrative written by Fletcher Williams III. Functioning as an index to the exhibition, the text introduces the fictional world of Mr. Freedman and the rituals surrounding the annual Fourth of July celebration.

PRODUCTION AND CURATION

250 Years From Mr. Freedman was independently curated, produced, documented, and cataloged by Fletcher Williams III, who also designed the exhibition identity, logo, way-finding, signage, lighting, and site-specific vinyl window installation, American Flag.

INTERVIEW AND PRESS

My Modern Met
Artist Transforms Rusted Tin Roof Salvaged From Charleston Fire Into American Iconography [Interview] By Sage Helene - July 7, 2026

Post & Courier
North Charleston artist salvages tin from burnt Freedman’s cottage for 250th exhibit. By Wyatt Barczak - July 2, 2026

PLAYLIST

Listen to Mr. Freedman’s July 4th Spotify playlist

Acknowledgements

Fabrication Partners:
TTS Studios
Steve Aycock Designs

Special thanks to Navy Yard Charleston for providing the exhibition space at Storehouse 8 in the Charleston Design District and for supporting the exhibition opening reception.

EVE OF JULY 4TH

If I hadn’t caught a patch of shade, I’d have missed them. Those stone windows, tucked behind a row of palms. It wasn’t that long ago that word of a Northern promise whistled through Charleston.

Some stayed. Some left a rose.

I wasn’t too far from Mr. Freedman’s home. I always knew I was getting close to his home when I’d see the eagles circling above. They followed the smoke. Just as I did.

After a few turns and some cobblestones later, I stepped into Mr. Freedman’s yard. And there it was, in the center of the yard. Splayed. Branded with a star. Smoking for hours. His prized hog.

I always missed the pit master. His work was quick. Precise. In and out. On to the next town. The coals burned bright and hot, tended to by a few of his nephews, while his sisters tidied the flags and shifted the stars into place, careful not to burn their fingers.

The yard was busy. Hog. Coals. Smoke.
Flags. Laughter. Kids chasing.

I got straight to work. I walked over to the porch to grab a few more stars. And there he was, twisting a palmetto frond. Someone hollered my name from the yard. “Three more over here.” When I turned back, he was gone. Hopped away.

The yard was nearly ready. Ready for another Fourth.
Another year. The sun was beginning to set.

From the porch I watched Mr. Freedman, counting his stars. Pointing and counting. Before he could finish, his crow glided in from the trees with the last fallen star. It burned bright. Mr. Freedman took it carefully and set it in place.

The yard sparkled. I left Mr. Freedman to it. I’d see him tomorrow. 


by Fletcher Williams III
July 3, 2026

Accompanying Rust Paintings on Paper

Alongside the sculptural reliefs, 250 Years from Mr. Freedman includes a series of rust paintings on paper and smaller sculptural works that revisit the exhibition's principal figures: the Charleston Eagle, the crow, the palmetto grasshopper, the branded hog, and the rose window. Each painting translates a corresponding relief into oxidation on paper. While the composition remains consistent within each series, every work is unique. The oxidation develops differently with each application, producing surfaces, tonal shifts, and markings that cannot be repeated. Together, the paintings allow each image to exist simultaneously as sculpture and painting, offering another material expression of Mr. Freedman's world.

Coming soon.

Homestead, 2018
Tin Roof, Picket Fence, Interior Wood Paneling, and Rebar
44 x 44 x 84 in.
View Project

Resting Place, 2020
Wood, Tin Roof, Everlasting Blanket
103 x 63 x 22 in | 262 × 160 × 56 cm
Exhibition - Promiseland, 2020