Underground Railroad - SET DECORATION 2019
The Underground Railroad TV Series for Amazon Prime
Set Location - Savannah, Georgia
ABOUT THE WORK
Williams incorporated design elements informed by historical practices associated with enslaved Africans in the American South. Burial sites were often unmarked or minimally marked, and bottle trees—derived from West and Central African traditions—used glass objects as part of cultural and spiritual practices.
Based on this research, Williams developed a series of environmental set details using glass, brick, wood, and natural materials. Glass bottles and bricks were partially buried throughout the landscape so that only portions remained visible above ground. These elements were installed around house perimeters and along pathways to create consistent ground patterns.
Williams also inserted glass fragments into gaps and cracks in wooden structures to integrate material detail into the built environment. Additional elements, including shells and found natural objects, were arranged in the surrounding woods to create small, minimally marked burial sites.
For the “wedding tree,” Williams created a circular ground installation by forming a dirt ring around the base of the tree and embedding partially buried glass at regular intervals. This repeated the same material approach used across the set and provided visual continuity between locations.