STATE LINE
State Line is an installation in 3 parts: Police State, Line Up & Eye Line.
Police State states “DO NOT…”
“KILL, SHOOT, HATE, HANG, PROFILE, RUN, LIE, PASS GO, or….”
The sign is covered with the images of unarmed African-American men, women and children who have been killed by police action—state sanctioned or vigilante—in recent decades. Pictures of the deceased cover one another and their faces are further obscured by their names, which are ordered and repeated at random.
The covering up alludes to false reports, cover-ups, eyewitness accounts, multiple perspectives and multiple opinions, conspiracy theories and media manipulation as issues that obscure the true events.
Line Up, displayed vertically, serves as an index to Police State
incorporating notes and portions of sketches and ink jet prints used in its creation.
Eye Line, displayed horizontally on the floor, shows the eyes of the victims listed on Police State. A key element of a perspective drawing is a horizontal line called a horizon line or eye line representing the viewer’s eye level or perspective.
What were the varying perspectives of the killed and their killer? What was the victim’s last earthly vision?
Ikorita--The Crossroads
Police State is a sign at the crossroads. Life changing decisions are made at the crossroads.
Borrowing from Yoruba philosophy, the saw tooth horizontal eye-line represents the physical world--Aiye.
The vertical line-up represents the path between our earthly world and the spiritual, invisible realm--Orun.
✚
My conception of this piece began after the death of 12 year old Tamir Rice (Cleveland, OH)
then closer to home, the fatal shooting of Jonathan Crawford (Beavercreek, OH).
I committed to the piece following the murder of Walter Scott (North Charleston, SC).
The work finally began to materialize after the execution of Samuel Dubose (Cincinnati, OH)
near an intersection I have crossed thousands of times
and on a road I have driven without a front license plate.
Christian Taylor (Arlington, TX) was killed while I was completing the piece.
With sadness I have more names to add.
#foundart#stickergraffiti#streetcalligraphy#digitalappropriation#collage#reliquary
State Line is an installation in 3 parts: Police State, Line Up & Eye Line.
- Police State uses mixed media on a found traffic sign.
- Line Up uses mixed media in a Moleskine Japanese style notebook.
- Eye Line is a collage of ink jet prints on accordion folded card stock.
Police State states “DO NOT…”
“KILL, SHOOT, HATE, HANG, PROFILE, RUN, LIE, PASS GO, or….”
The sign is covered with the images of unarmed African-American men, women and children who have been killed by police action—state sanctioned or vigilante—in recent decades. Pictures of the deceased cover one another and their faces are further obscured by their names, which are ordered and repeated at random.
The covering up alludes to false reports, cover-ups, eyewitness accounts, multiple perspectives and multiple opinions, conspiracy theories and media manipulation as issues that obscure the true events.
Line Up, displayed vertically, serves as an index to Police State
incorporating notes and portions of sketches and ink jet prints used in its creation.
Eye Line, displayed horizontally on the floor, shows the eyes of the victims listed on Police State. A key element of a perspective drawing is a horizontal line called a horizon line or eye line representing the viewer’s eye level or perspective.
What were the varying perspectives of the killed and their killer? What was the victim’s last earthly vision?
Ikorita--The Crossroads
Police State is a sign at the crossroads. Life changing decisions are made at the crossroads.
Borrowing from Yoruba philosophy, the saw tooth horizontal eye-line represents the physical world--Aiye.
The vertical line-up represents the path between our earthly world and the spiritual, invisible realm--Orun.
✚
My conception of this piece began after the death of 12 year old Tamir Rice (Cleveland, OH)
then closer to home, the fatal shooting of Jonathan Crawford (Beavercreek, OH).
I committed to the piece following the murder of Walter Scott (North Charleston, SC).
The work finally began to materialize after the execution of Samuel Dubose (Cincinnati, OH)
near an intersection I have crossed thousands of times
and on a road I have driven without a front license plate.
Christian Taylor (Arlington, TX) was killed while I was completing the piece.
With sadness I have more names to add.
#foundart#stickergraffiti#streetcalligraphy#digitalappropriation#collage#reliquary