Charles Ryan Long Artist Talk

June 2nd, 2020

Charles Ryan Long first etched WELCOME TO THE DEATH OF WHITE MANHOOD into the sand on Matagorda Island in early 2017 after the election of Donald Trump and during a time of increasing police violence. On this island with friends who had spent the winter at standing rock, Charles encountered a piece of wood that was actually a chunk of debris, or a remnant of petroleum pollution. As he stood on this decommissioned military base, where native wildlife had completely taken over the asphalt and buildings, holding this remnant from late-stage capitalism, Charles declared "WELCOME TO THE DEATH OF WHITE MANHOOD".

Charles' work went up in our window space in early May, before the brutal murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmad Arbery, and Tony McDade made national headlines and spawned worldwide protests to defund the police. We had planned on having an artist talk event with Charles to discuss this piece. After these horrific events, the three of us, Charles and co-directors KT + Ali, hesitated to go forward with the event as we wanted to be sensitive to the outrage and pain many folx were expressing online. However, after a series of conversations, it became apparent that this piece was more relevant than ever. We are witnessing a fundamental shift in our society due to Black activists' unwavering work towards liberation, and as Charles predicted, standing on an island almost 4 years ago, The Death of White Manhood.