The portraits of Marsha P. Johnson, Delani Berries Stuckey, and Celine Walker were created to bring awareness to the recent rise in unsolved murders of black transsexual women locally and nationally. Deadnaming, the public release of a person’s birth name and gender rather than their affirmed (changed) name and gender, can impede an investigation. Its recurrence in the cases of murdered black transsexual women may be a contributing factor as to why their crimes remain unsolved. Learning that the murder of Marsha P. Johnson, an icon from the Stonewall riots, was treated similarly and remains unsolved ignited my interest in honoring these women as they lived. The title, “Give Them Their Flowers,” is a nod to Johnson’s flower crowns which she often wore. Conceptually, it reminds us to honor and take better care of one another while we are living rather than after death. The use of live flowers, that will die over the course of the exhibition, is a simple reminder that there is beauty in all things, but without care, or regard for all human lives, demise is inevitable.
Special thanks to Living Beauty Florals for assistance with the installation.
Labels
Delani Berries Stuckey, North Charleston, 7/20/19
Give Them Their Flowers
36”x48”, acrylic ink, sharpie, spray paint
2019
Marsha P. Johnson, 7/6/92
Give Them Their Flowers
36”x48”, acrylic ink, sharpie, spray paint
2019
Celine Walker, Jacksonville, 2/9/18
Give Them Their Flowers
36”x48”, acrylic ink, sharpie, spray paint
2019
- Subject Matter: Portrait, Installation