Carolyn Mazloomi , Hands Up ... Don

2024

Medium

Cotton, India ink, textile paint, cotton thread, and cotton batt

Dimensions

147.3 × 259.1 cm

Status

In Gallery Collection

Collect24 Art ID

C24-513643

I was inspired to create this quilt to honor Black people killed by policemen. I started collecting names of victims a few years ago. The first quilt had 25 names on it. I made a second quilt after I collected 88 names of victims. Instead of stars, I chose to use the image of 50 Black men with a target on their chest. I used the images because I read a news report stating some police departments in the United States used cutouts of Black men for target practice. The flag is resting on the images of a slave ship. The ship of human cargo is symbolic of the free human labor used to build this country's wealth. It also symbolizes Black people are part of the fabric that is America. The quilt is my response to systemic racism, police violence, and social injustice. Making narrative quilts is my way of addressing issues such as racial profiling, police brutality, and broader systemic inequalities faced by Black communities. It is a soft way to tell hard stories.