Excessive Force, 2018
Glass beads, thread, glass, faux bullets
Bullets: 2.88 x 0.75 x 0.75 in. (7.3 x 1.9 x 1.9 cm)
Butterfly: 3.5 x 3.25 x 1.25 in. (8.9 x 8.3 x 3.2 cm)
Each beaded bullet features initials of individuals connected to incidents of police violence, excessive force, and racial injustice, including Katheryn Johnston, Tamir Rice, Korryn Gaines, Trayvon Martin, Rodney King, Michael Brown, Philando Castile, Sandra Bland, Amadou Diallo, Freddie Gray, Erica Garner, and Tanisha Anderson. Eric Garner is represented as a butterfly.
"Excessive Force is deliberately titled to reflect the broader structures and manifestations of violence embedded within contemporary policing. Although the imagery of bullets may initially suggest gun violence, the work does not refer exclusively to firearm-related deaths. Instead, the bullets function symbolically, standing in for violence in its many institutional and bodily forms. This distinction is central to the conceptual framework of the piece.
The deaths of individuals such as Eric Garner, who died from compression of the neck, and Freddie Gray, who suffered a fatal spinal cord injury while in police custody, exemplify forms of state violence that extend beyond the discharge of a weapon. Their deaths underscore how excessive force operates not only through firearms, but also through restraint, physical domination, and the unequal distribution of power between law enforcement and civilians.
The police weapon functions not only as an instrument of physical force, but as a symbol of institutional authority and coercive power. Its visible presence — and the authority to use it — fundamentally alters encounters marked by tension and vulnerability, reinforcing asymmetrical relations of control. Incidents such as the beating of Rodney King demonstrate how such imbalances can escalate into acts of excessive force, even when firearms are not discharged.
Excessive Force should therefore be understood not as a commentary limited to gun violence, but as an examination of systemic violence more broadly: the ways authority, intimidation, and bodily harm converge within the mechanisms of policing and public power."
Text adapted from original exhibition text by Amy Raehse for the 2018 exhibition: Can’t We All Just Get Along?
