Above: a chalk portrait of Sandra Bland
Tonight my fifth solo show opens, this time at Vermillion. I wanted to honor the police murder victims of Black Lives Matter, so I returned to figurative portraiture, a departure from the largely abstract work of the past decade.
The name of the show is “Rebirth.” To counterbalance the hatred and racial violence in today’s world, my aim was to create a meditative, healing space to honor the Black victims of police murders. Using classroom chalk, I drew portraits of 14 of them from a composite of photos sourced online.
The individuals featured are Tamir Rice, Rekia Boyd, Eric Garner, Meagan Hockaday, Alton Sterling, Korryn Gaines, Philando Castile, Aiyana Stanley-Jones, Oscar Grant, Nizah Morris, Michael Brown, Sandra Bland, and Yvette Smith. Also included is Trayvon Martin because his murder was what inspired Black Lives Matter. In the back of the gallery, these people’s stories are posted, along with information on Black liberation organizations, including Black Lives Matter, Ending the Prison Industrial Complex (EPIC) Seattle, and Black Community Impact Alliance, as a call to action. It’s not enough to simply read about these people; we need to fight against police brutality and support marginalized communities.
Drawing someone in chalk is a delicate and tender process. You observe every minute contour of their face. You understand that this person was vital, multifaceted, funny—so much more than a name in the news. Moreover, this person left behind a void that is still felt among their loved ones and their communities. You realize, in drawing them, that you deeply care. And it becomes evident that remembrance, particularly in a portrait, is a kind of rebirth.
What brought me to tears was working on the eyes of 7-year-old Aiyana, the youngest police victim in the group. “We failed you,” I kept thinking. She and the countless people gunned down by police officers should be here today. We need to do better. We need to address police accountability, open-carry laws, overpolicing in Black communities, and all the racism, sexism, homophobia, and transphobia attendant in American society.
A significant element in many Black religious communities, water is collected in a bowl at the end of the gallery as a symbol of purification and rebirth. In acting as an inherent threat to the chalk drawings, it carries a reminder of the fragility of life and memory.
I want to thank Davida Ingram, Blu the Baqi, Sooja Kelsey, Eva Abrams, Inye Wokoma, and Erwin Thomas for all of their insights and guidance on this project.
Vermillion is donating 10% of its profits to Black Lives Matter; I’m donating all my profits to Ending the Prison Industrial Complex (EPIC) Seattle.
Show info:
Rebirth, a show honoring Black Lives Matter
Vermillion
1508 11th Ave, Seattle, WA
Opens Sept. 8, 6 to 9PM
Closes Oct. 8
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