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50 Nigga Salute
Photo Installation
The American prison system is a contemporary reincarnation of slavery and Jim Crow. Through incarceration, Black bodies continue to be controlled, exploited, and transformed into sources of labor under the guise of punishment and rehabilitation. Economic and social remnants of slavery persist through the prison-industrial complex, as racialized labor, systemic injustice, and the continued commodification of Black life and bodies underline the relationship between punishment, profit, and power in the United States.
Photographs of 50 Black men and women are presented in uniform order, fixed to face an American flag on the wall opposite them. The viewer is invited to occupy a space that is tense and unresolved. Facing the flag, the viewer is able to accept the beauty and gravitas that the United States commands, but they must simultaneously turn their back to those whose exploitation sustain its power.
The fifty mug-shot portraits mirror the fifty stars of the American flag, transforming each individual into a symbol of both citizenship and sacrifice. Referencing the line "Every N*gger Is a Star," by Boris Gardiner, the work confronts the contradiction between Black citizenship and Black disposability, confronting those who are consumed in service to the nation.
All images sourced from local arrests from Tulsa County Jail in Oklahoma.
50 4 inchx6 inch Inkjet prints.
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