“This Indenture, ignored.”

The substrate of this collage is a will that leaves the heir a huge estate. The document was found in a box of similar documents at an auction in London. After quite a bit of consultation with people who know law, and the historical significance of such documents, it has been determined that these old parchments are truly worthless. I wonder what happened that these contracts and wills became garbage. Was it simply that they became digitized artifacts? What became of the heirs? What became of the property? Was there a murder? But going further, what is a contract worth anyway? If we have learned anything from the depth of corruption revealed in our criminal justice system in the United States, we question the ground We The People stand on and what we stand for. Furthermore, with regard to racism, everyone (not only People of Color) know that the Jim Crow laws still exist today and that the Jim Crow era should be destroyed this time, forever. From my perspective, as a visual documentarian of sorts, we are currently all at sea. However, this fight against racism must never stop.

As Art depicts and records and interprets human history, depicting humanity and inhumanity, it is no wonder Art is often destroyed as a threat to corrupted power - isn’t the truth revealed in a work of art apparent to all? As Giotto knew, as Basho (haiku poet) knew, and so many others. Truth and honesty are apparent in works all of art.

The theme of Art Against Racism is a show, as well an experience in creating my statement. This opportunity opened a new place in my art-mind, a place to call out the statements of Art History and question everything; in this case Justice and Politics. How can we be human without trying to distinguish the truth from the lies and the underlying motives at work in our society?