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 reku Monogahejla, Bredok u Pensilvaniji nalazi se u istočnom delu okruga Alegejni, otprilike 14 kilometara od Pitsburga.
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, Bredok je mesto prve čeličane Endrua Karnegija, fabrike Edgar Tomson. Posluje od 1875. i to je poslednja čeličana u regionu koja još radi. Tokom 12 godina slikala sam kolaborativne portrete, mrtvu prirodu, pejzaže i slike iz ptičje perspektive kako bih načinila vizuelnu arhivu i opisala presek industrije čelika, prirodnog okruženja i uticaja zdravstenog sistema na tela moje porodice i zajednice.
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 okvirni narativ Bredoka većinom se sastoje od priča industrijalaca i radničkih sindikata. Trenutno, novi narativ za Bredok, zaštitno lice za revitalizaciju Pojasa rđe, čini priča urbanih pionira koji otkrivaju novi svet. Masovni mediji su izostavili činjenicu da je stanovništvo Bredoka uglavnom crno. Naše postojanje je preuzeto, ugušeno i izbrisano.
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 i podigla me je baka Rubi pod svojom zaštitom, sa ugla 8. ulice i 805. avenije Vašingon. Ona je radila kao upravnik u Gudvilu. Majka je bila pomoćna medicinska sestra. Gledala je kako se zatvaraju čeličane a belci beže u predgrađa. Do vremena kad je moja generacija počela da hoda ulicama, nedostatak investicija na lokalnom, državnom i saveznom nivou uništio je infrastrukturu a rat protiv droge rasturio je moju porodicu 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 Rubi, Gremps, bio je jedan od retkih crnih muškaraca koji su napustili čeličanu Karnegi s penzijom. Radio je na visokim temperaturama, rasturao i ponovo sastavljao peći, čistio komade metala i šljake. Istorija jednog mesta zapisana je na telu i pejzažu. Područja sa dosta saobraćaja, izloženost benzenu i atomiziranim metalima, rizik od raka i lupusa. 123 licencirana kreveta, 652 radnika, desetkovani programom rehabilitacije. Tužbom za diskriminaciju pri smeštaju protiv okruga Alegeni uklonjeno je mesto gde su nekad stajale kule Talbot. Nedavno se javilo novo urbano planiranje za lakšu industriju. Pikseli na Gugl mapama i Gugl Earth prikrivaju zapaljivi otpad kojim se isteruje porodica Ban iz svog doma i sa svog zemljišta. Iznajmila sam helikopter 2013. kako bih svojim fotoaparatima zabeležila ovo agresivno oduzimanje imanja. U letu, moja opažanja otkrivaju hiljade plastičnih belih svežnjeva koji su vlasništvo kompanije za očuvanje koja tvrdi da je ekološka i reciklira milione guma da očuva živote ljudi i unapredi živote ljudi.
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 rad proteže se od mikro do makro nivoa, iskopavajući skrivene istorije. Nedavno smo u Muzeju umetnosti Sijetla Ajzak Ban i ja postavljali ovu izložbu, i iskoristili smo je kao platformu kojom on iskazuje svoj glas. Kroz vraćanje našeg narativa, nastavićemo da se borimo protiv brisanja istorije i socioekonomske nejednakosti.
Thank you.
Hvala vam.
(Applause)
(Aplauz)