Featured art “Back to the Real World 4" — Downtown Atlanta GA for a Breonna Taylor Protest by Nazrene Alsiro, Analog photograph, double exposed, 06/03/2020
For Breonna, On the Essentiality of Black Women
Malanna Wheat
I wonder if it was peaceful
If there was a split moment where you thought this is all a dream.
Like how we feel on the regular
Mid-day, waiting in line
When a white man steps in front of you to order
As if you’re invisible
As if you’re less important
Less worthy
Less deserving of --
NEXT IN LINE!
That’s probably what they say at the coroner’s office.
See that’s the thing.
We’re disposable.
What does it mean to be seen?
When you’re not even seen on the scene
When your body is left to rot for hours in the sun
Hot, juicy, strange fruit
Like a half-eaten apple that’s been violated by a predator in the night
Taking what they can and leaving the rest because it’s just
useless.
How do you survive your own invisibility?
When you only cease to exist on a spectrum of ulterior and death…
Through the number 8 actually
8 bullets
8 minutes 46 seconds
They forget about alignment because they have no conscience
Because they believe in man-made concepts
Believe in upholding our unconsciousness
But,
Infinity,
as we know,
lives forever.
So, you
My darling
Were merely an angel on earth.
Glad you’re home,
Safe.
Save me from this hell.
If there was a split moment where you thought this is all a dream.
Like how we feel on the regular
Mid-day, waiting in line
When a white man steps in front of you to order
As if you’re invisible
As if you’re less important
Less worthy
Less deserving of --
NEXT IN LINE!
That’s probably what they say at the coroner’s office.
See that’s the thing.
We’re disposable.
What does it mean to be seen?
When you’re not even seen on the scene
When your body is left to rot for hours in the sun
Hot, juicy, strange fruit
Like a half-eaten apple that’s been violated by a predator in the night
Taking what they can and leaving the rest because it’s just
useless.
How do you survive your own invisibility?
When you only cease to exist on a spectrum of ulterior and death…
Through the number 8 actually
8 bullets
8 minutes 46 seconds
They forget about alignment because they have no conscience
Because they believe in man-made concepts
Believe in upholding our unconsciousness
But,
Infinity,
as we know,
lives forever.
So, you
My darling
Were merely an angel on earth.
Glad you’re home,
Safe.
Save me from this hell.
About the Author
Malanna Wheat: Before I am anything as a mere mode of production, I am a Black woman. I am a poet, a lover of words, a reader, a green tea, gold hoop, tight, slick bun enthusiast. As a trauma-informed researcher, I am dedicated to human rights in order to implement and actualize change at the ground level. My international exposure has taught me that striving to change the world isn’t an impossible task, just an arduous one. Everyone, somewhere, wants and deserves to be liberated. The research and work experience that I've done within the criminal justice sector has taught me invaluable lessons concerning power, choice, autonomy, and identity.
About the Work
My piece, "For Breonna: On the Essentiality of Black Women," is not only an ode and tribute to Breonna Taylor, but incorporates a reference to George Floyd, not only representing the current affairs of 2020, but more importantly, as the mission of Inverted Syntax reflects, "language that turn us inside out and conveys novel insights into the human experience." What I relay in this poem is not novel, but rather representative of how violence engulfs the Black experience.
About the Artist
Nazrene Alsiro is a practicing Interdisciplinary Artist located in Atlanta, Georgia US but was born in the Philippines with a mixed racial background of both Palestinian and Filipino. Her original focus at Florida State University was Video/Photography and Sculpture however, she has been focusing on painting and analog as of lately. She presents her photography in a variety of formats as well as video installations that may include sculptural forms.
About the Art
Whether channeling personal expression, provoking emotions, or capturing a moment of light and shadow, in my work I want to portray the spasms of feelings that underpin our life. I explore fear and curiosity connecting mental health in the modern world. I work by observing others and their emotions as well as embracing my own. I intend to bring the beauty of what's unseen and life's unidentifiable outcomes.
My curiosity is drawn to the complex connection between mental health and the need for societal normalcy. In some of my work, I use material such as tulle because it mimics the haziness in dream-like memories. In previous and ongoing work, I address the ongoing turmoil that takes place in the West Bank. Hoping for peace while presenting subtle truths of what is taking place. As of recently, I have taken interest in paint-drenched paper towels used to clean up paint and recycles it into a material used in the paintings, all inspired by the COVID-19 pandemic. In photographs, I use the double exposure format in which compresses two moments that set a narrative of what I see during the All Black Lives Matter movement. As of now, I plan to continue to use exploration, observations, and experience as a part of the process.
The pandemic in our heads was the worst thing to happen but when the state decided to open up we came back out to a culture battle that affects black lives. This photo is part of a series of photos that are a compression of the multiple narratives running through our time.
Malanna Wheat: Before I am anything as a mere mode of production, I am a Black woman. I am a poet, a lover of words, a reader, a green tea, gold hoop, tight, slick bun enthusiast. As a trauma-informed researcher, I am dedicated to human rights in order to implement and actualize change at the ground level. My international exposure has taught me that striving to change the world isn’t an impossible task, just an arduous one. Everyone, somewhere, wants and deserves to be liberated. The research and work experience that I've done within the criminal justice sector has taught me invaluable lessons concerning power, choice, autonomy, and identity.
About the Work
My piece, "For Breonna: On the Essentiality of Black Women," is not only an ode and tribute to Breonna Taylor, but incorporates a reference to George Floyd, not only representing the current affairs of 2020, but more importantly, as the mission of Inverted Syntax reflects, "language that turn us inside out and conveys novel insights into the human experience." What I relay in this poem is not novel, but rather representative of how violence engulfs the Black experience.
About the Artist
Nazrene Alsiro is a practicing Interdisciplinary Artist located in Atlanta, Georgia US but was born in the Philippines with a mixed racial background of both Palestinian and Filipino. Her original focus at Florida State University was Video/Photography and Sculpture however, she has been focusing on painting and analog as of lately. She presents her photography in a variety of formats as well as video installations that may include sculptural forms.
About the Art
Whether channeling personal expression, provoking emotions, or capturing a moment of light and shadow, in my work I want to portray the spasms of feelings that underpin our life. I explore fear and curiosity connecting mental health in the modern world. I work by observing others and their emotions as well as embracing my own. I intend to bring the beauty of what's unseen and life's unidentifiable outcomes.
My curiosity is drawn to the complex connection between mental health and the need for societal normalcy. In some of my work, I use material such as tulle because it mimics the haziness in dream-like memories. In previous and ongoing work, I address the ongoing turmoil that takes place in the West Bank. Hoping for peace while presenting subtle truths of what is taking place. As of recently, I have taken interest in paint-drenched paper towels used to clean up paint and recycles it into a material used in the paintings, all inspired by the COVID-19 pandemic. In photographs, I use the double exposure format in which compresses two moments that set a narrative of what I see during the All Black Lives Matter movement. As of now, I plan to continue to use exploration, observations, and experience as a part of the process.
The pandemic in our heads was the worst thing to happen but when the state decided to open up we came back out to a culture battle that affects black lives. This photo is part of a series of photos that are a compression of the multiple narratives running through our time.
