Hakim Raquib
With support from Stable Ground Boston
"I titled this small body of work “The Surge” largely because when I started pulling work together in late April for this exhibition, “The Surge” had just begun, according to Governor Charles Baker of MA. However, on May 25th Everything changed! The murder of George Floyd in particular, forced me to rethink what images speak to the current condition in the world of time in Covid 19, Corona virus Pandemic and Racism Endemic."
"I dedicate this body of work to the Memory of Black lives recently murdered; Ahmaud Arbery (while jogging in Georgia), Breonna Taylor (while sleeping in her bed in Kentucky), and George Floyd (while detained for alleged forgery in Minnesota) who’s murder ignited wide-spread political protests across the country and the world."
Image Gallery
Artist Statement
I titled this small body of work “The Surge” largely because when I started pulling work together in late April for this exhibition, “The Surge” had just begun, according to Governor Charles Baker of MA. However, on May 25th Everything changed! The murder of George Floyd in particular, forced me to rethink what images speak to the current condition in the world of time in Covid 19, Corona virus Pandemic and Racism Endemic. It has stopped life as we knew it. No doubt, the new normal is being invented at this very moment. The recent Protest and Uprising against Racism through The United States has a profound consequence, reverberating around the World, “I Can’t Breathe” People of African descent in the United States are discriminated against and disproportionately subjected to violence and death at all levels of the criminal justice system. The system is broken. It needs to be reformed to say the least. The Pandemic has adversely affected, disproportionately people of color, especially in poor communities. The elderly in nursing homes, the homeless and high numbers among the incarcerated. Native American’s, Asian American’s have greatly suffered as well. The number of deaths attributed by the Corona virus has reached over One hundred thousand at this time. The subject matter is overwhelming to cover in an Artist statement alone. The works presented in this format are some Redux, photographs from my brief travels to the store during the Covid 19 surge, Intuitive impressions, and experiments with a variety of third party software tools and a peripheral view from two political protests over the past week. I would be seriously remiss not to mention and give hail to all the first responders who held the line combating the corona virus, and the young millenniums who are answering the call to end racism, to make a better world. Keep Doing! I dedicate this body of work to the Memory of Black lives recently murdered; Ahmaud Arbery (while jogging in Georgia), Breonna Taylor (while sleeping in her bed in Kentucky), and George Floyd (while detained for alleged forgery in Minnesota) who’s murder ignited wide-spread political protests across the country and the world.