8. The Supremacy Project at St. Ann’s Warehouse
Photo courtesy Julian Alexander
On the facades of St. Ann’s Warehouse in Dumbo, Brooklyn, you can find Julian Alexander & Khadijat Oseni’s Supremacy Project, a public art project that addresses “the systemic oppression and violence BIPOC communities are fighting to end through art.” The project began after the killing of George Floyd and uses photography, poetry, design and branding to “evoke the ubiquitous nature of injustice in American society.” The core images are both familiar culturally and historically — Mount Rushmore, for example — or rooted in current events — police officers in riot gear in Times Square. They are juxtaposed with branding that looks like that of the company Supreme, or with other imagery, to provoke conversation.
The project is a combination of two exhibitions: Michael T. Boyd’s Lost Ones. Culture Found, which reexamines the legacy of widely known victims of police brutality and hate crimes, on the building’s Water Street facade; and Julian Alexander and photographer Steven “Sweatpants” Irby’s Supremacy: Who Protects Me From You?, which illuminates the systemic inequities at the core of our government, on the Dock Street exterior of St. Ann’s Warehouse. The forerunner to this installation, 21-foot murals entitled Supremacy: Who Protects Me From You?, was first installed in the Brooklyn Navy Yard last summer. The panels were defaced repeatedly, “reinforcing the work’s message.” The Supremacy Project will be on view until April 25th, 2021. St. Ann’s Warehouse was also hosting impromptu rooftop concerts during the pandemic, which were intended to be appreciated by people from afar on the ground.