{"product_id":"delano-dunn-what-s-life-like-when-you-got-plans","title":"Delano Dunn, What’s Life Like When You Got Plans (2022)","description":"\u003cp\u003ePaper, gems, spray paint, wallpaper, vinyl, shoe polish, stickers, resin on board\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e24 in x 19 in \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“This series of mixed media collages explores ‘Black Americana’, the Black memorabilia, Afro-Americana, and blackface collectibles produced in the U.S. from the 1900-1950s. While that memorabilia came in many forms, from kitchenware to toys and to decor, this work primarily focuses on the pictorial representation of Blacks in postcards depicting glorified scenes of slave life—many of which included happy notes from one friend to another: ‘Thought you’d enjoy this lovely scene!’ — and advertisements for products using Blacks in the most egregious stereotypes and tropes.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eAs I sourced these items, massing a disturbing collection in my home, I was repeatedly jarred by the current treatment of the objects in the online marketplaces, describing these derogatory depictions and slave scenes as ‘sweet, wonderful, lovely, adorable’, the same infantilizing language used to debase African Americans from the start. Many times, a bidding war ensued online, and I wondered who else was collecting these items, and why?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eI combined this imagery with the work of Civil War-era illustrator Thomas Nast, showing a conflicted America with no clear line drawn as to the fate of Blacks in this country.Paired together, the postcards and the illustrations provide a blueprint for the revisionism we see occurring now of the factual narrative of slavery in America. The collage process allows me to combine seemingly disparate and often incongruous imagery, colors, textures and patterns to bring historical images into a new context, one that may not even exist–a fantasyland where body parts repeat or are removed altogether, where scale distorts, where young Black girls now tower over another being. I removed these figures from their original settings and scenes, placed them onto newly built grounds of found wallpaper backdrops, layered with gold and silver, then embellished and scrubbed down. Finally, the figures are sealed into their new world, seen only between the punctures of the tar-like shoe polish angrily scattered across the canvas. In this world, they now have the power to decide their own fate.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003eThis piece will be available after the closing of \u003ci\u003eEchoes in the Margin\u003c\/i\u003e on November 29, 2026.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Wassaic Project","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47971810771098,"sku":null,"price":6500.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0563\/4529\/7050\/files\/Dunn_WhatsLifeLikeWhenYouGotPlans_2023.jpg?v=1779818292","url":"https:\/\/store.wassaicproject.org\/products\/delano-dunn-what-s-life-like-when-you-got-plans","provider":"Wassaic Project","version":"1.0","type":"link"}