#Fruit finds itself at the crossroads between the art and fashion worlds. It lives at the intersection of memorial, utilitarian object, and trauma under the guise of a site of spectacle and consumption. Fruit arrives as a false store looking at the ways in which the Black body is consumed for its labor, economic and entertainment potential within the American context. I intend to tempt the viewer into consumption with fine craftsmanship, rich color and display tactic all within the constructed space. The lookbook Fruit SPRING 2016 grounds the space as a pop-up shop or high-end boutique highlighting the idealized black male body as a site of consumption – sexual, economic, labor and entertainment.

As a collection #Fruit is meant to disturb the safety of the gallery/museum as a transgressive space and the store as a consumer space. Though tempting, all of the work is not for sale. In the denial of the sale, I hope the viewer finds themselves is a strange space, not able to participate as a trained consumer, but also wondering – more concretely – if there is something wrong with them.