Black Artist, Nona Faustine Poses Nude At Former Slavery Sites In New York (Not Safe For Work)

There are many forms of protest art but this black woman, Nona Faustine, may have blown the top with her creation.

From Her Body Came Their Greatest Wealth”, Wall Street, New York, from the White Shoes series, Copyright Nona Faustine

For her White Shoes series, she posed completely nude with just her white shoes on at former sites where slaves were once sold in New York, as her way of calling attention to history and the “enduring legacy” slavery left in the history of the United States.

“They Tagged the Land With Trophies and Institutions From Their Conquests”, New York City Hall, from the White Shoes series, Copyright Nona Faustine

“As a time traveler I’m very invested in the past and our future,” she wrote. “I see myself, the people who built this city and country as one. They deserve so much recognition for their sacrifice and contributions, something that is still being denied them. There was a force deep inside of me that needed to pay homage to those who played a pivotal role in the early history of this city, and the spaces in which they existed.”

Over My Dead Body”, New York City Hall, from the White Shoes series, Copyright Nona Faustine

“I wanted to uncover those places where a tangible link to the past exists. Being a documentarian at heart I wanted you to feel and see those spaces, let your mind wonder. What does a Black body look like today in the place where they sold human beings 250 years ago? No other medium but photography and film could do that.”

On This Spit Of Land Massa and I Reside”, Pre-revolutionary Dutch Cemetery, Brooklyn, from the White Shoes series, Copyright Nona Faustine

Nona Faustine says she was inspired in part by South Africa’s Saartjie “Sarah” Baartman (also known as ‘Venus Hottentot’), the Khoikhoi woman who was exhibited in various freak shows in 19th Century Europe because of her large buttocks and curvy figure.

Like A Pregnant Corpse The Ship Expelled Her Into The Patriarchy” (Atlantic Ocean Coast of Brooklyn, NY), from the White Shoes series, Copyright Nona Faustine

What do you think of Faustine’s series – extreme or not?

You can read the full story here.

Source: Blackgirllonghair.com