This sculptural assemblage is an attempt to enter into a dialog about how American culture has moved historically from the emancipation of slaves to the incarceration of their descendants. An aspect of "white guilt" could be the creation of a system to continue to treat black people with cruelty to mask the shame of our history.

This work focuses on an image of feet. "Feet" represent bondage and freedom as they were both used as a means of escape or transportation. Consequently, the feet were shackled by slave owners for this reason. The feet are cast in varying colors from similar molds, representing the fact that while we may appear "different" to one another, our origins are the same. The feet are mangled or deformed. The deformities are both sculpted into the original molds as well as a result of the latex casting material changing shape over time. I see the cycle of colonialism, racism and the continued legacy of slavery (both contemporary and historical) as a trap one might chew one's foot off of, to set ourselves free from it. Unfortunately, it's a cycle in which nobody can deny involvement.

The gallery where this work is shown, had these euro-centric columnar forms in it, which I used as elements. The "white" feet are on top of the columns, some of which are arranged in a "toppled" position. The "black" feet are on plaster slabs, and there are two inside a tire. The placements are indications of our racial divide in our country. Both "white" and "black" feet are equally mangled.

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