Possession
15 x 51 x 7”
metal, wood, oil enamel paint, gold chain, Grand Daddy Purp Delta-8
Possession, a metal frame welded and shaped into the form of a birdcage and hook, seems to float; it echoes ghostly white against the wall of the gallery. The cage and hook themselves are simple, no frills, with bars set widely enough apart that you could easily reach your hand between. A sliver of plastic wrap containing a small amount of Delta-8 bud becomes the focal point in a sea of white, and is offset by a gold chain that wraps around the hook and cage, connecting the two in a metaphorical way, as the pieces are individually supported. This work hopes to touch on the nature of the growing cannabis industry in relationship to the prison industrial complex. It uses this substance, specifically a chemically altered legalized version, to call attention to the highly disproportionate incarceration rates that the Black communtiy faces for possesion of marijuana, especially in the face of commercialized cannabis. In its use of material, color, and context, this work attempts to start a conversation about a controversial substance and its widely unacknowledged, profit-motivated realm of consequences.