My Sweet

My Sweet, a site- specific participatory public altar art installation dedicated to black, brown and trans women who have been killed by the state was commissioned by Yeah, That’s What She Said 2015, an annual pop up feminist arts event. It was the centerpiece of a night dedicated to women fighting state violence and followed a panel including Erica Garner, daughter of Eric Garner. Community members were invited to honor those they’d lost by contributing pictures, messages, names of ancestors and wishes for the living and dead. I activated the altar with a performance of an original choral poem, My Sweet. By the end of the event the altar was overflowing with offerings. The altar and poetry performance allowed us to subvert the paradigm of male supremacy and state terrorism by refusing to participate in the erasure of our very existence.