- Arsimmer McCoy
- From the photo Series: "The skin your ancestry adorned you with", 2022
- Photograph on Fabric
- 40 x 60 in
- Inv: 2022.02.01
In the photo, McCoy stands in "The River of Grass" in Shark Valley, holding the portrait of her Great Grandmother, Arsimmer Bailey, and one of her mother, Arsimmer Wilder McCoy. These striking visuals of Arsimmer steeped in the Swamp water of the Florida Everglades were created originally as an homage to her namesake, the power of naming, and the lineage of land. The first viewing of the works included an install curated by McCoy called The Florida Room, which included personal archives (furniture, sculpture, photo, & media), and expanded the conversation to include commentary on the gimmick advertising, class baiting, racist, and bootstrap narrative that are enveloped in the tourism marketing culture of South Florida. That culture has been a perpetual harm to Black communities across South Florida and has had violent effects on Florida's ecosystem. To McCoy, all of this has made it difficult for Black people to feel connected to the land. The photo descriptions are excerpts from McCoy's original poem The Ghost Dance; a poetic response to when the poet is asked how she feels about climate change. The power of spirit and ancestry as it pertains to survival are illustrated through language, image, & archive in this work.
- Current Location: Everglades National Park - AIRIE Nest Gallery
- Collections: 2022 Alumni, Category: Visual Arts, Everglades National Park Collection
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Art collection photography courtesy of Steven Brooks, Heather Roy, or the featured artist.
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