A new flag for today, as freedom is not a guarantee for all people in this country. I designed this piece entitled, “Our attention has consequences” for the exhibition MESS (Marker Emblem Symbol Signal) on display at Standard Space and curated by Adam Eckstrom, director of ArtsFor Artists.
During the three month period between March 13, 2020 and June 13, 2020, Google Trends' analytics show that "SpaceX" was searched for 2.5 times as often as "Breonna Taylor." These data findings reveal that our society pays more attention to the privatization of space exploration by a white man (aka Elon Musk, who describes his efforts as part of "colonizing" Mars) than to the murder of Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old Black woman who was shot by police in her home during a botched execution of a warrant. The disparities in where we direct our attention have dire consequences. According to NASA, a round-trip ticket to the International Space Station on the SpaceX Crew Dragon would cost about $58 million dollars. Justice has no price tag, and Breonna's murderers are still free.
Artist: Sarah Sandman, Title: “Our attention has consequences”, Date:
June 2020, Media: silver nylon, black acrylic ink, gold embroidered patch, Size: 25"w x 15”h, Typeface: Martin by Tré Seals of Vocal Type Co, Fabrication: Julia Gualtieri (silkscreening and sewing) and Brooklyn Stitch (patches).
Artists included in the exhibition are: Chloe Bass, Natalie Baxter, Daniel Bejar, Mel Chin, Pamela Council, DARNstudio, Ghost of a Dream, Vandana Jain, Kirsten Hassenfeld, Sarah Sandman, David Scher, Dread Scott, and Sanne Vassen
Curated by Adam Eckstrom, director ArtForArtists .