Arthur Jafa's BLACK POWER TOOL AND DIE TRYNIG confronts Blackness and mortality at 52 Walker

Arthur Jafa's exhibition BLACK POWER TOOL AND DIE TRYNIG at 52 Walker in New York presents a visceral exploration of Blackness, power, and mortality through immersive installations. The centerpiece, Picture Unit (Structures) II, is a massive mirrored acrylic labyrinth measuring 2.6 by 18.5 by 3.6 meters that engulfs viewers in a torrent of images ranging from Charles Manson's victims to Atlanta's Magic City strip club and Rwandan genocide memorials. Another work, LOML (52 Walker Version), is an hour-long film installation honoring the late critic Greg Tate through footage of tornadoes, Michael Jackson, and TikTok dancers set to a cacophonous score blending ambient, soul, and rap. The exhibition includes Large Array II featuring cutout figures of Miles Davis, Michel Foucault, Adrian Piper, the Sex Pistols, and Jafa himself, alongside 'rail sculptures' like Boundary 3 with traffic bollards that bear marks of street abuse. A wall-based silkscreen titled Lateria depicts gospel singer Lateria Wooten in a pixelated black-and-white image capturing ecstasy, pain, and rage. Jafa's practice juxtaposes images from diverse sources linked to Black culture, creating works that resist emotional resolution while evoking violence, grief, and the complex alterity of Black aesthetics. The exhibition runs through 1 June 2024.