HELD IN TENSION

2021

C-type print, 60x45 inches

In May and June 2020, Maria D. Rapicavoli took part in the Black Lives Matter protests in New York City in the aftermath of George Floyd’s death. During this time, Rapicavoli observed how quickly the stores boarded up their show windows. “Banks and luxury stores locked their doors first, followed by shopping centers, restaurants, and art galleries… Capitalism was, for the first time, rejecting people,” Rapicavoli recalled. Taken during the protest movement, the photographs that comprise Held in Tension depict broken storefront windows that are nonetheless held in place by the tempering process. Rather than see the broken glass as evidence of violence, Rapicavoli offers the photographs as a visual representation of the underlying tension in a society that has normalized oppression of Black people for centuries. Liz Park

EXHIBITION: Surface Tension