Withering Dreams is a piece done in accordance to Fabiola Jean-Louis' installation work during her residency at University of Central Arkansas. When I first began brainstorming the piece, I remember wanting to incorporate a piece that represented myself as well as paying homage to my culture and where I had come from. It didn't feel right putting up work that was prideful and nationalistic, at least not while I felt there was an endless amount of problems that the U.S. needs to address; And I, like many others, couldn't dig all too far into my past before eventually stumbling upon all the chaos and deletion caused by slavery. This was when I discovered the concept of what a Cultural Orphan was: A person in isolation lacking perhaps parental guidance, but even more so the lacking of a sense of belonging or origin. It was that deep emphasis of isolation, a consequence of empty promises of doing better created by America that inspired me for the piece.

"In the piece, you can see the ship tilted in it's state venturing outwards with practically no regards for the gravity we all abide by. You can see the ship practically flying and riding the cotton waves to jab at the fact that America was built on the backs of black people through slavery and discrimination. The American Dream was never built for anyone other than the white man, that is the ugly truth. Instead, we live in a world where privilege has become a luxury and oppression/division as a norm."

-

Explicit Materials : Aluminum Foil, Dowel Rods, Cardboard, Paper, Wooden Stain, Twine Rope, Cotton, and a wee bit of wood.

Hours: 70+

Project No. #1620

Status: Completed