“NEGRO PELIGRO” is the result of a collaboration between multidisciplinary artist Ayo Janeen Jackson and master printmaker Zaire Anderson. This two-color screenprint, which uses the infamous mugshot of political activist Assata Shakur as its source material, showcases core elements of Jackson's artistic practice – the use of a body-based font and engagement with historical racial injustice. Blurring the line between image and object, the print is laser-cut and backed with reflective Mylar to create text behind the photo image, spelling out the Spanish for “Black Danger” (or Spanglish for “the Danger Posed by a Black Person”). It is printed on 280gsm, 22"x 30" BFK Rives printmaking paper and hand deckled. Edition of 9 + 2AP + 1PP in each colorway.

Tar Baby Code, as Jackson's signature font is called, takes its name from the classic African-American folk tale in which the trickster Br’er Rabbit outwits Br’er Fox who has laid a sticky trap for him. While the term "tar baby" evolved into a racial slur, its use here is not for mere shock value. Rather, it is meant to elucidate the term's original meaning – a problem that becomes more intractable the more one resists – as an ingenious metaphor for the African-American predicament. Moreover, this font asks the viewer to engage with the history of Black resistance through literacy and elusive, coded vernacular. Employed in statements of observation, protest and gratitude it renders legible the Black female figure’s expressive force as a site of such resistance.

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For inquiries please email leon@pelzerprojects.com