artists

THE TABLE OF WHITE SUPREMACY by matt freire

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A wise woman wishes to be no one’s enemy; a wise woman refuses to be anyone’s victim.
— MAYA ANGELOU
Culinary and visual artist Krystal Mack’s The Table of White Supremacy

Culinary and visual artist Krystal Mack’s The Table of White Supremacy

In many ways a feast is the perfect example of White Supremacy at work. At tables of power, People of Color, Women, and Queer people are underrepresented and when they are present, they are often subjects to an abusive culture that is the byproduct of supremacy. In this piece byproducts are represented by comestibles and vessels on the table. 

Comestibles on the table represent a byproduct of Supremacy. Wine (finely aged class structure), deserts (sexual, financial, physical, emotional abuse), and grapes of privilege and opportunity for those at the table to feed to those ho aspire to have a seat at the table. Bread, unequally degradation of our environment and climate due to the oil and seafood industry. The 5 spiced ham with candied bail flowers represents both our baking institutions and foreign trade. These are things that seemingly maintain the wealth of the table. A large amount of this wealth originated from the system of slavery (represented by the cotton centerpiece) that broke black and brown people while ensuring the wealth & position of whites for generations to come. Finally the tacos represent the false promise of opportunity and acceptance, our broken immigration system, and the picking apart of another’s culture purely for consumption.  — Krystal Mack