Mapping Narratives: New Prints 2021/Winter

January 27th-April 3rd, 2021 | IPCNY

This was the first show where I got to share my large scale print “Black Bodies” out side of Florida. I was pushed by my professor and fellow peers to submit to the open call at the International Print Center of New York (IPCNY) which is a competitive gallery. Through this experience I learned a lot about how to package my work so it has a safe delivery and how to make sure my art was gallery ready. It was a lot of unknowns and growing pains. I learned how to put grommets on the fabric of my print and how to fold my print in a way that caused the least amount of damage.

In this piece I incorporated a lot of American motifs such as the American flag, toy policemen and police cars, bullets, toy guns, barbed wire fencing, and protest posters reminiscent of the Civil Rights Movement. Each element adds to the overall statement of young black men being viewed as targets hence the target on the front of the main figures shirt. I wanted the viewer to be confronted by the humanity of these figures and the quoted question “Am I not a man and a brother?” More Info Here

To the right is the print and the reference photo I took of my brother (middle) and my cousins (on the left and right).