Sabrina Pastard
A Shape of Blue
Project Statement
Whiteness is not something that wishes to be seen, recognized, or held accountable outside of its expression of power. Its power moves in spaces assuming to be the foundation of the space itself no matter the violence of its reality. This is seen during protests, when cops move in greater numbers against those who call for accountability of unarmed killings as opposed to their response to the insurrectionists of January 6th.
Whiteness needs to know itself in both the mundane and the systemic ways— it needs to wrestle with the death and damage it has done.
A Shape of Blue focuses on whiteness from Sabrina’s immediate experience of it. Viewers will encounter laser cut pieces that focus on that personal examination and watching of whiteness moving through space. The blue shapes are abstracted light blue riot helmets worn by Chicago police during the uprising of 2020, while the black and white represent counties where black and brown people have been murdered in the past and in recent history.