Along the ancient path of the Monongahela River, Braddock, Pennsylvania sits in the eastern region of Allegheny County, approximately nine miles outside of Pittsburgh.
Duž prastarog puta, niz rijeku Monongahela, Braddock u Pennsylvaniji nalazi se u istočnom dijelu okruga Allegheny otprilike 14 kilometara izvan Pittsburga.
An industrial suburb, Braddock is home to Andrew Carnegie's first steel mill, the Edgar Thomson Works. Operating since 1875, it is the last functioning steel mill in the region. For 12 years, I have produced collaborative portraits, still lifes, landscapes and aerial views in order to build a visual archive to address the intersection of the steel industry, the environment, and the health care system's impact on the bodies of my family and community.
Kao industrijsko predgrađe, Braddock je mjesto prve čeličane Andrewa Crangiea, tvornica Edgar Thompson. Posluje od 1875. i to je posljednja čeličana u regiji koja još radi. Tijekom 12 godina fotografirala sam kolaborativne portrete, mrtvu prirodu, pejzaže i fotografije iz ptičje perspektive, kako bih izradila vizualnu arhivu i opisala presjek čelične industrije, okoliša, ali i utjecaj zdravstvenog sistema na moju obitelj i zajednicu.
The tradition and grand narrative of Braddock is mostly comprised of stories of industrialists and trade unions. Currently, the new narrative about Braddock, a poster child for Rust Belt revitalization, is a story of urban pioneers discovering a new frontier. Mass media has omitted the fact that Braddock is predominantly black. Our existence has been co-opted, silenced and erased.
Tradicija i velika pripovijest Braddocka većinom se sastoji od priča industrijalaca i radničkih sindikata. Trenutno, nova pripovijest za Braddock, je zaštitno lice za revitalizaciju Pojasa hrđe, a to je priča o urbanim pionirima koji otkrivaju nove granice. Masovni mediji izostavili su činjenicu da je stanovništvo Braddocka uglavnom crno. Naša egzistencija je bila preuzeta, ušutkana i izbrisana.
Fourth generation in a lineage of women, I was raised under the protection and care of Grandma Ruby, off 8th Street at 805 Washington Avenue. She worked as a manager for Goodwill. Mom was a nurse's aid. She watched the steel mills close and white flight to suburban developments. By the time my generation walked the streets, disinvestment at the local, state and federal level, eroded infrastructure, and the War on Drugs dismantled my family and community.
Četvrta sam generacija loze žena. Podigla me je baka Ruby pod svojom zaštitom, s ugla 8. ulice i 805. aveniji Washington. Radila je kao upravnik u Goodwillu. Mama je bila pomoćna medicinska sestra. Gledala je kako se čeličane zatvaraju i kako bijelci bježe u predgrađa. Do vremena kada je moja generacija počela hodati ulicama, nedostatak investicija na lokalnom, državnom i saveznom nivou uništio je infrastrukturu. A rat protiv droge uništio je moju obitelj i zajednicu.
Grandma Ruby's stepfather Gramps was one of few black men to retire from Carnegie's mill with his pension. He worked in high temperatures, tearing down and rebuilding furnaces, cleaning up spilt metal and slag. The history of a place is written on the body and the landscape. Areas of heavy truck traffic, exposure to benzene and atomized metals, risk cancer and lupus. One hundred twenty-three licensed beds, 652 employees, rehabilitation programs decimated. A housing discrimination lawsuit against Allegheny County removed where the projects Talbot Towers once stood. Recent rezoning for more light industry has since appeared. Google Maps and Google Earth pixelations conceal the flammable waste being used to squeeze the Bunn family off their home and land. In 2013, I chartered a helicopter with my cameras to document this aggressive dispossession. In flight, my observation reveals thousands of plastic white bundles owned by a conservation industry that claims it's eco-friendly and recycles millions of tires to preserve people's lives and to improve people's lives.
Očuh bake Ruby, Gramps bio je jedan od rijetkih crnih muškaraca, koji su napustili čeličanu Crangie s penzijom. Radio je na visokim temperaturama, rastavljao i ponovo sastavljao peći, čistio komade metala i šljake. Povijest jednog mjesta zapisana je na tijelu i pejzažu. Područja s dosta kamionskog prometa, izloženost benzenu i atomiziranim metalima, rizik od raka i lupusa. 123 licencirana kreveta, 652 zaposlenika, desetkovani programom rehabilitacije. Tužbom za diskriminaciju pri smještaju protiv okruga Allegheny uklonjeno je mjesto gdje su nekada stajali Talbot tornjevi. Nedavno se pojavilo urbano planiranje za laku industriju. Google Maps i Google Earth prikrivaju zapaljiv otpad, kojim se pokušava istjerati obitelj Bunn iz njihovog doma i s njihovog zemljišta. 2013. iznajmila sam helikopter, kako bi sa svojim fotoaparatima zabilježila ovo agresivno oduzimanje imanja. U letu, moja opažanja otkrivaju na tisuće plastičnih, bijelih svežnjeva, koji su vlasništvo kompanije za očuvanje, koja tvrdi da je ekološka i reciklira milijune guma, kako bi očuvala živote ljude, ali i unaprijedila ih.
My work spirals from the micro to the macro level, excavating hidden histories. Recently, at the Seattle Art Museum, Isaac Bunn and I mounted this exhibition, and the exhibition was used as a platform to launch his voice. Through reclamation of our narrative, we will continue to fight historic erasure and socioeconomic inequality.
Moj se rad proteže od mikro do makro nivoa, istražujući skrivene povijesti. Nedavno smo u Muzeju umjetnosti u Seattleu Isaac Bunn i ja postavljali ovu izložbu i iskoristili smo ju kao platformu kojom on podiže svoj glas. Kroz vraćanje naše pripovijesti, nastavit ćemo se boriti protiv brisanja povijesti i socioekonomske nejednakosti
Thank you.
Hvala vam.
(Applause)
(Pljesak)