Alfred Conteh USA, b. 1975
Daishon, 2022
Acrylic, atomized brass dust and atomized steel dust on canvas
120 x 84 in
304.8 x 213.4 cm
304.8 x 213.4 cm
8744
Further images
Daishon memorializes a moment when Conteh was confronted by one of his own biases. It shows a young Black man in a sweatshirt holding up two fingers. Conteh first saw...
Daishon memorializes a moment when Conteh was confronted by one of his own biases. It shows a young Black man in a sweatshirt holding up two fingers. Conteh first saw this young man on the street and thought the hand signal he was flashing could be perceived as a threat. After talking to him, Conteh learned that he was on his way to get a haircut, and he was giving Conteh the peace sign. The encounter echoed experiences Conteh recently had after a knee injury, which required him to spend a lot of time at physical therapy in an area of Atlanta where not a lot of Black people live. As a big guy with dark skin walking with a limp, he was constantly confronted with a sense that he was being perceived by others as a threat. “When it comes to me recontextualizing my perception, Daishon is a proxy for me,” Conteh says. “When I was his age, older people were wary of me. Older people would lock their door when I was walking. Now around the neighborhood if I see a young brother come in and I don't know him, I'm wary. I have to check myself a lot and do self-examination and make sure if my understanding of things is off or on.”