Other Ways is about the painful unmasking of performative allyship. In this piece, the artist recites text messages they received from their partner during the breakdown of their relationship, catalyzed by differing responses to the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests in New York City. the artist distorted their voice and collaged the recitations atop footage shot on their phone during the protests. As the video progresses, the statements on the audio track are transmuted beyond the personal, becoming familiar soundbites of self-preservation, fragility and deflection; talking points of the ‘well-meaning’ and would-be ally.
Spurred by the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and countless others, the 2020 protests were unique in the double jeopardy they presented for black people risking both the threat of police violence and exposure to the COVID-19 virus, which has disproportionately affected communities of color. A clear directive was issued for white people to show solidarity in a protective capacity, as bulwarks between the movement and the police.
Designed to be shown as an immersive installation experience, Other Ways re-contextualizes the kind of conversation about social responsibility that often occurs in private between those with privilege. When empty words about the ‘fight’ for justice are stacked against the physical realities of public dissent, they bow and buckle in on themselves. The question for the ‘ally’ becomes:where is your body when it matters most?