Racial Gaslighting, hides in plain sight in everyday interactions. It subtly shifts dialog from a racist topic at hand onto me, the accuser – forcing me to question and re-assess my own response to racism, rather than the racism itself.

“You’re being overly dramatic.”
“Are you sure it was about race?”
“I’m sure he/she didn’t mean it like that.”

Intentional or not, these types of comments trigger a spiral of self-doubt and create a convenient way for other people to avoid uncomfortable conversations about race.

The constant questioning, twisting and undermining of what I know to be true – has had a compound negative affect upon me, manifesting in insomnia, anxiety and hefty amounts of emotional baggage. Through this work, I am exercising these demons and creating aesthetic armor for protection using a blanket created from recovered commercial fishing net and thousands of black zip ties to shield myself.