MY EYES DUE SEE, 2018

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single-channel video, music composition comprised of samples and live instrumentation created by artist, asphalt-covered rug, found car transmission, car jack, found car hoods, hand cut broomsedge grass, screen door mesh, Maglite 6 D cell flashlight, southern pine asphalt impregnated board, found asphalt chunks of road, forensic trajectory rod, wheatpasted wall text on paper, fluorescent lights and fixtures, and yellow road marking tape

My Eyes Due See, is a multidimensional examination of the “black experience” in America. The installation is composed of a single-channel video, a music composition that utilizes music samples and live instrumentation, and sculptures made up of car parts and broomsedge grass. Each of these elements arranged in space share a nuanced and complicated view of blackness through the lens of a black man decoding personal history and American history simultaneously. Autonomy is the overarching theme throughout the work as it pertains to race, identity, urban and rural environments, and the relationship between generational trauma and nostalgia.

The term “objective reasonableness” comes from a U.S.Supreme court case Tennessee v. Garner (1985) about which Dean and Foundation Professor at Eastern Kentucky University, College of Justice and Safety, Victor E. Kappeler Ph.D. states: “The case involved the shooting death of an unarmed 15-year old juvenile, Edward Garner, who had broken into an unoccupied home and stolen a ring and $10.When police officers arrived on the scene, Garner ran. A Memphis police officer shot and killed Garner. The Court ruled that police officers could not use deadly force to prevent the escape of a felon unless the suspect posed a significant threat of death or serious physical injury to the officer or others.”