
2018, India ink, acrylic paint, cloth, tracing paper, Dimensions variable

2018, India ink, acrylic paint, cloth, tracing paper, Dimensions variable

2018, India ink, acrylic paint, cloth, tracing paper, Dimensions variable

2018, India ink, acrylic paint, cloth, tracing paper, Dimensions variable
In "Diamond Gray Pisses on George Washington (D.G.P.O.G.W.)," I investigated the question, "how do I cleanse and dispel the generational trauma that plagued my descendants and me?" I was influenced by artist Barbara McCullough's 1979 video piece "Water Ritual #1: Urban Rite of Purification." and her approach to the Black body and the notion of reclamation. The film encapsulates bodily fluids and Pan-African ritualistic practices to challenge and reclaim the Black female form at sites in the United States. I exhibited " D.G.P.O.G.W. " in a building named "George Washington Hall" in Andover, Massachusetts. I posed my figure to urinate, expel, and purify the horrendous acts of White violence against Black femme bodies. I collaged my great-grandmother and grandmother's clothing over my figure because they act as mystical artifacts. They protect, empower and restore my existence in any space I occupy.