The Genealogy of Race

The artwork is inspired by a book called Dark Matters by Simone Browne. She's an author belonging to a Critical Race Theory background, and in this book she discusses how contemporary surveillance as we know it is rooted in the history of Black slavery in the U.S. She calls this the "surveillance of Blackness" that has persisted over historical genealogies and taken up new forms in modern racism. In other words, this is systemic racism bound by institutions and people—something that appears as inescapable for many. The frame's focal point is the plan of a slave ship called Brooks from 1789. It was used as a vessel to transport up to 609 enslaved captives.

"The men therefore, instead of lying on their backs, were placed, as is usual, in full ships, on their sides, or on each other."

Next to the ship, you see a landscape-esque image to the frame's left-hand-side which shows map lines. These represent the roots of slavery maintained and reinforced through time. The top of the frame shows an urban-looking tall building that represents a watchtower in contemporary society where people are still 'watching' over what Browne calls "Black bodies" through a disproportionality large and omnipresent telescope. They assure a human body of darker skin colour feels fear and controlled in urban environments that most of us find ourselves in today. The top background images add to this by following an urban design architecture style to contrast the more 'old' and historical imagery below.

You can also interpret this piece as going beyond Black racism by applying it to any and every form of systemic discrimination that exists—like religion, caste, class and gender—which may feel inescapable too.