2022
material: rosewood, epoxy, metal
dimensions: 350 x 80 x 80
George Floyd
When I watched the murder of George Floyd on television (May 25, 2020), it was clear immediately that this marked a turning point in world history. It shocked the world and it shocked me. Worldwide protests started and I too felt the need to protest. I asked myself: 'What is my position as a white man, born in Western Europe? Am I entitled to say something about this? Wrestling with this, my conclusion was that even I had to say something about it.
Part of the system
This moment in time not only marks a horrible human drama, it also reveals the working of a system. I am a part of this system of institutional racism and therefore I am also part of the problem.
I have captured this event, which gave this institutional racism such a clear image, in a custom-made case, because I too am guilty of institutional racism. The least I can do, is to be very aware of this and to relate to it. This is why I have chosen a fragment of Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as the title of this work:
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
With this work, a suitcase with a symbolic content, I give this event a skin as border. It is now up to all of us to relate in our own way and reflect on what we can and should do with this content.
The installation is part of the Universe project.