99% NO.76 Antwone 2013

Curator: This is Sedrick Huckaby’s piece, "99% NO.76 Antwone," part of a series. It’s a smaller work, about 7 by 5 inches, rendered in what looks like graphite on paper. Editor: My immediate response is its pensive mood, accentuated by the subject looking upward, away from us. The visible, gestural marks lend a sense of searching. Curator: The gaze upward is indeed potent. It hints at aspiration, perhaps even spiritual seeking, while the text at the bottom complicates this reading. Editor: Ah, the text. "Those pawn shops…cheat people…They love our community, don’t they?" That adds a layer of social commentary, a pointed critique of economic exploitation. The gaze becomes more accusatory, less innocent. Curator: Precisely. Huckaby uses portraiture not just to depict an individual, but to engage with broader social justice issues. Antwone becomes a symbol. Editor: A symbol, certainly, carrying the weight of a community’s struggle against predatory systems. It’s a small piece, but profoundly evocative.