A Monument to Good Intentions: Baltimore, 2008
During college, (circa 2000) I lived a block away from a good friend. When she asked me if I wanted to walk over to the Rite Aid with her to pick up a prescription, I hesitated between grabbing a 5 or a 1 off my mantel. I ended up grabbing the 5 and bought a diet coke, allowing for me to have change left over in my pocket. When we got back to her place, I suggested we take a moment to sit on the stoop to hangout in the nice weather. A handsome man with cornrows walked by and once he passed, I mentioned to her that I thought he was cute. When he reappeared, I imagined he was coming back to ask for one of our numbers (as was typical at that time in our lives). That is when he mugged us. "Gun" in pocket he was rushed and insistent and got off my case once I handed over the change in my pocket. She had no cash and ended up offering the only thing of value- her leather Coach pocket book.
Once I completed this drawing and reflected upon the elements that was contained in this experience- namely my romantic interest faced with the reality of our positions in life. Led me to ask; How did I become the woman on the stoop to be mugged- and how did he become the one to mug me? How did the conditions of the time and place inform this moment, 1000 of years in the making? In trying to further articulate and answer these objective questions in a completely subjective experience, this drawing became the catalyst to my MFA thesis project, the Baltimore Project: A Monument to Good Intentions.