Statue of Freedom (Marsha P. Johnson), 2024
Aluminum, Chrome
74in x l 26.7in x d 17.3
Installation View, 2024 Whitney Biennial, Even Better Than The Real Thing, March 20- August 11
Statue of Freedom (Marsha P. Johnson), which borrows its title from the bronze personification of America atop the Capitol, remixes a historic monument while bringing subjugated histories to the fore. My version recasts the historic statue as Marsha P. Johnson, the self-described “drag queen” and pioneering gay liberation activist. My interpretation is human-scale as opposed to towering over the public, on the ground instead of on a pedestal, and donning a protest poster in lieu of military regalia. Cast in aluminum, a vehicle for light, its mirrored surface produces a distorted reflection, disassembling the viewer and the environment into abstract forms. Against the backdrop of the Westside piers, the sculpture conjures the memory of those on the fringes of society who once forged spaces of possibility along the water’s edge. Statue of Freedom (Marsha P. Johnson) portrays a street queen who was an elemental force that transformed the landscape and architecture of freedom.
