1 September, 2023
Shea Justice explores U.S. laws and customs and traces their impact on African Americans from their inception to this day. His work features portraits of figures that have shaped history, as well individuals affected by or consciously omitted from mainstream accounts of historical events. Using watercolor and collage, Justice applies images and text to replicas of historical documents such as the U.S. Constitution. In juxtaposing these elements, he explores the motives and meaning behind the words that have shaped policies in America—and presents the past as prologue to our current times.
Justice notes, “I have always been interested in American history so it's constantly the theme of my work. American history has currently been erased and whitewashed and the exhibit is a creative response to that by highlighting the realities of what America was built on.”
The exhibit features striking juxtapositions—Martin Luther King Jr. giving his 1963 “I Have a Dream” speech next to a drawing of George Floyd being murdered by a White Minneapolis police officer in 2020 and Floyd’s last words: “Mama, I can’t breathe.”
Justice is an artist and teacher who uses watercolor and collage to document these times. His work has been shown at Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Gallery 13, Spoke Gallery, and deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum. He is a member of AAMARP (African American Master Artist Residency Program) at Northeastern University. One day Justice hopes to share his work with a larger audience at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.
The exhibit will be on display at the HCA's Lotvin Family Gallery from October 6th through November 11th. The HCA wishes to acknowledge the Hopkinton Cultural Council and the Hopedale Cultural Council for their support of this exhibition.
Entrance to HCA's gallery to view the exhibition is always free. The HCA is also pleased to offer private and group docent tours upon request. For more details, call 508-435-9222 or visit the HCA's website at www.hopartscenter.org
