Guessing Game
Installation
Mixed media
2020
Guessing Game focuses on literacy tests that were given to African Americans before being registered to vote during the Jim Crow era. Guessing Game combines the playfulness of an impossible guessing game to real and impossible literacy tests. This guessing game is a large jar full of gum balls that you would generally see at a birthday party or baby shower. The participant who can guess the number of gum balls closest to the actual amount wins a prize. Fun, right? Well in this case, the people who can guess the correct number of gum balls can vote. Guessing Game calls attention to the ridiculousness of literacy tests that were given to African Americans beginning with Jim Crow laws, which successfully restricted many African Americans from voting.
Denied
Installation
Mixed media
2020
On election day, many voters are proud to wear the “I Voted” sticker or wristband given after voting. This piece removes the pride and happiness of being a voter, and focuses on a group of people who are not able to participate in voting. The redesigned sticker directs the spotlight onto inmates and formerly incarcerated people. Mass incarceration is a system in the United States that was created to criminalize people and make profit. Because of biased systems, like the police force and the justice system, African Americans are incarcerated more than any other race. One in every three African American men in the United States will serve jail time at some point in their lifetime. Because this system affects African Americans the most, there are many laws that restrict them from voting because of their criminal record, or because they are currently serving time during elections.