2024
photographs and scales
66 x 31 x 10 in.
[Content warning: Self Harm] This work is titled after the song “I Choose Violence” by Atlanta rapper Glokk40spaz, who is pictured throughout the work, a lot of rap music when people think of its they think of a certain hyper aggressive, hyper violent outward face of the artists in the music. That aggression doesn’t come from no where.
When you read between the lines you can catch passing glimpses into how some of people truly feel deep down. In the song this piece is named after, in between the usual fare of this kind of music, the artists says “ I used to cut my self because I felt worthless” then just as quickly moves on to the next line to complete the bar.
In our society and especially the black community and amongst black men, metal health is a bit of strained topic to say the least, and the lack of support and lack of identification of certain issues is very real, especially being that self harm is less associated with young men. Looking back at my teen years, now on the other side of a long healing journey, only in recent years that I realized the issues I had, like an eating disorder, and body dysmorphia, learning to enjoy the sensation of hunger to be a thin as possible, because I too, felt worthless. Which is where the bathroom scale in the work comes from, juxtaposed against digital scale often used for weighing drugs, in reference to the music of glokk40spaz.
Before you judge the violent nature of the music, remember that irritability and short temperedness is one of the least recognized symptoms of depression.
Take care of your brother, you never know how much they might need it