Above: Left panel of the closed artwork has male and female first names indigenous to West Africans. Right panel of the above artwork has names of West African nations and languages spoken.
Title: identity theft: erasure (closed) H 60" x W 108" x D 7" Materials: aluminum frame from 10 ft. satellite dish, aluminum mesh, steel plate, masonite, chalkboard paint, acrylic ink, chalk, felt erasers, metal hinges, bolts, screws, velcro (2018)
Satellite dishes are communication devices. I often use them as such devices in my artwork.
Above: The doors of no return are opened to reveal the erasure of captured African's primary identifiers. Far left panel has English names assigned to captured Africans (taken from slave ship registers). The inside left panel has possible West African names of captured Africans, erased. The far right panel has names of countries and colonies where enslaved Africans were sold. The inside right panel has the countries and territories the enslaved Africans were captured from, erased.
Title: identity theft: erasure (open) H 60" x W 192" x D 30" Materials: aluminum frame from 10 ft. satellite dish, aluminum mesh, steel plate, masonite, chalkboard paint, acrylic ink, chalk, felt erasers, metal hinges, bolts, screws, velcro (2018)
Detail: Slave Names / African Names Erased
Detail: African Languages and Places Erased / Places Enslaved Africans Were Shipped