YOUNG RIOT: POOLSIDE
LET US REFLECT AND REJOICE THE TRIUMPH OF SPIRIT. THE RESILIENCE OF BLACKNESS THAT TRANSMUTE OPPRESSION AND THEREBY WITHIN PLIGHT FINDS SOLACE. WHAT IS IT LIKE TO WRITE A LOVE LETTER TO YOUR CHILDHOOD HOME AND, IN DOING SO, YOURSELF TO FIND (READ:CONFRONT), SELF, A BLACK MAN MUST WADE THROUGH WATER, HOWEVER METAPHORICAL IN NATURE.
HERE, DAVID HOCKNEY’S PORTRAIT OF AN ARTIST SERVES AS A VEHICLE TO EXPLORE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN AN IDEALIZED SENSE OF SUCCESS AND A MAN WHO, IN THE FACE OF VIOLENCE AND TRAGEDY, CONSTRUCTED A BEAUTIFUL PATH TO FREEDOM. LURKING A LAYER BELOW, THIS EXAMINATION PRESENTS US WITH THE REALITY OF OUR PAST CIRCUMSTANCES. THAT IS A MAN TRAPPED IN A PRISON; HE WAS NEVER MEANT TO ESCPAE. HIS VOICE IS THE ONLY MEANS WITH WHICH HE MIGHT ESCAPE THE BOX. POOLSIDE.
