While Black Project (images of work in progress)

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Creator

Cadex Herrera

Title

While Black Project (images of work in progress)

Coverage

3020 Hennepin Ave, Minneapolis, MN 55408, USA

Description

Images of the While Black Project mural in progress

This is located in Uptown Minneapolis and was painted on the exterior wall of a former Apple store.

An excerpt from Urban Art Mapping's interview with Cadex Herrera on May 12, 2022:

"I started with the idea that black men and women are being killed, you know, historically there's racism and then I said, it's almost like they’re targets. Always targeted. And that's what happens, right? A cop sees you driving. They look at you, and, you know, based on the color of your skin, there's a higher percentage that you will get stopped, or searched, or harassed, and what have you. So that was the starting point to that concept, that idea of being targets. And then also I wanted to make a statement about how young black men and women also are being targeted and they're part this issue, right? But also their ancestors were also part of that history, they were also young, and they also lived through this historic racism that is still happening today.

And so that the idea behind that piece. And then I had them draped with the flag because that is an American issue, right? This racism. And then also the flag sort of melts down into these blood drips, talking about the horrors of racism and the violence that's involved with it. And these two kids are super innocent looking. In the piece and they're created in the silhouette form. And that was just so that they could stand against that black background, and the idea of the black background, again, the color is very intentional, because we are talking about black history and there shouldn't be any other color out there, except for this one.

And then there's bullet holes in the flag and those little holes are dripping blood as well, just to sort of hit it over the head, you know, about gun violence, especially gun violence against people of color by police officers. And then it was a very important for them [The While Black Project] to explain what these images meant, right? And the whole idea is that the While Black Project is all about, you know, getting harassed and all of these awful things happening to you while you're just doing regular things as a human being, as a Black person. Going to the store, riding your bike, you know, standing in the street corner. Like, why is that stuff in legal, right? Why would a cop come up to you and harass you because you're just hanging out on the street corner with your friends. And so that was part of that that idea behind that concept."

Rights

Artist: Cadex Herrera

Publisher

Urban Art Mapping Research Project

Contributor

HS

Identifier

UAM-GF_3403

Comments

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