Greener Trails by Dadisi Curtis Jr.

For some people, monsters are not a myth. Monsters are walking, breathing entities who inspire fear and hatred by simply existing. As an African American man, I have been perceived as a monster. The works of art I create reclaim a semblance of my humanity. Super Predator is not merely a phrase coined during the 94-crime bill; it is an example of how people of color are viewed to justify the adverse treatment and incarceration they receive. Discriminatory connotations are placed on children at birth, who come to accept these negative biases attributed to them through popular culture, media, and the nightly news. To reshape this dynamic I challenge the gaze when applied to the black body. A staple of my work is the use of fluorescence illuminated by black light. In my work the connection to black light is metaphorical, through utilizing ultraviolet light. Ultraviolet light is always present but, also invisible as it resides just below the visible light spectrum. It is a perspective that is forgotten at best or foreign altogether. My concept of blacklight acts as a representation of the African American perspective through my own experience. Even though ultraviolet light is always present, and we cannot see it specifically, it still exists. Blacklight is utilized as a perspective shift between Euro-Americans dominant viewpoint and that of African Americans. The work created is meant to operate in both black and white light environments to demonstrate that the dominate western perspective is still the majority, with the minority navigating both worlds, but the subtle nature and nuance will be understood by individuals with an understanding of a Black environment. This approach accomplishes two things; challenge the implicit bias of the viewer and highlighting black joy within the community. After hundreds of years of discrimination, implicit bias has been engrained in the American psyche even if the viewer is unaware of its presence. For that reason, I choose black joy in its various forms so that these small hidden moments may be elevated to highlight the everyday beauty of these moments. With this work I can enable community healing and deepen the understanding across cultural boundaries. Simply being seen in spaces where historically we have been erased, helps open the doors to future generations of explores. Sculpture, printmaking, and digital media merge to create installations that immerse the viewer into the environments of my youth, providing alternative perspectives and unseen forms of injustice. Utilizing printmaking and photography, crafting moments that embody a teleport into a familiar simulacrum of a cinematic scene. My goal is to give my viewer a glimpse into the reality of these constant encounters as a Person of Color who lives through them. In this way, the viewer might understand the divisions of race privilege better.