Screen Print Mural

"My work with 'Hollow' seeks to give substance to our collective struggle for liberation, while serving as a tool to grapple with my dissonance as a Rochestarian in light of recent events. My entire life, the City of Rochester has expressed a fetishistic obsession with the symbol of Fredick Douglass. You can barely walk the city without seeing a statue, plaque, lampost, mural or building that evokes his memory. Our city uses them to signal progress, by associating with his legacy of abolition and justice. But in reality our city continues to oppress the exact people Douglass committed his life to liberating. In reality, the City of Rochester seems more committed to hollow effigies of his legacy than his principles."

- Unique Fair-Smith, Fine Arts Studio MFA student

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