MFA Never @ Root Division

This exhibition took place at Root Division in San Francisco in March 2020. It was my first exhibition.

I applied because I wanted to begin showing my work publicly and was still learning how artists get their work into exhibitions. I do not have an MFA, but I had created a series of five tapestries and wanted the work to be seen.

The series, titled The Disruption, uses patterned fabric to explore how government agencies seek to disrupt communities. In the work, birds represent the disruptor, while fish represent those being disrupted.

From the wall text at Root Division:

The Disruption, Afatasi (TAPA)stry #1, 2018
Various fabrics of the African Diaspora, siapo/Samoan barkcloth, shells from Bahia
45 ¾ x 34 ¾ in.

In The Disruption, I depict how government agencies, including the police, seek to cause disruption. The bird in the central panel represents the disruptor; the fish represent the disrupted.

The disruption affects each fish differently. One fish is taken away. A second witnesses the disruption but cannot stop it. A third knows the disruption is happening but turns a blind eye.

The same disruption occurs around the world, shown in the background panels where birds symbolize disruption in other cities.