Existing comment:
NEKISHA DURRETT
Eleanor Bumpurs Killed by police on Oct. 29, 1984 | Age, 66
Magnolia leaves, poplar, velvet, acrylic, LED lighting
19-1/4 x 19-1/4 x 5 inches
Courtesy of the artist
NEKISHA DURRETT
India Kager Killed by police on September 5, 2015 | Age 27
Magnolia leaves, poplar, velvet, acrylic, LED lighting
19-1/4 x 19-1/4 x 5 inches
Courtesy of the artist
ARTIST STATEMENT
Golden brown and tough as leather on one side, velvety soft on the other, fallen magnolia leaves possess an often uncelebrated radiance and resilience. For many, the magnolia flower is the showstopper. However, it is the magnolia leaf that, long after the flower's death, withstands rain, wind, and the lawn mower. Even after death, the leaf refuses to be erased and forgotten.
During the spring and summer of 2020, I collected fallen leaves from a towering magnolia tree in Rock Creek Cemetery. Experiencing the impacts of two pandemics at once -- COVID-19 and continued police brutality against Black bodies -- I used the cemetery as a space for processing my anxiety and grief. Inspired by the #SayHerName movement, I began to perforate the names of dozens of Black women murdered by law enforcement into the surfaces of the leaves. |