BLACK MARKET BLOWOUT!
A 24 HOUR DURATIONAL PERFORMANCE, AUCTION, MARKET, BLOW OUTSALE, GAME SHOW, & LIVE STREAM!
BLACK MARKET BLOWOUT! was a 24-hour performance art piece that explored the commodification of Blackness and the varied fabrications of Black identity within the American framework, revealing how different embodiments of exploitation manifest. These themes were personified by the show’s main characters: The Miner, a child laborer symbolizing hyper physical extraction and exploitation; The Host, a Black person dressed as a white man, representing performative assimilation; The Rapper, embodying cultural commodification; Aunt Jemima, a relic of the past and a manifestation of the role of the black caretaker materialized into food (The literal consumption of “blackness”); and myself, performing as both creator and subject, drawing from my real life.
The performance blended reality and fiction, pulling from national and global contexts while grounding itself in personal narratives. It operated as a blowout sale, game show, live auction, and storefront, critiquing the systems that exploit Black culture and labor to sustain capitalism.
Only 11:10:29 hours were recorded, and the performance concluded after 14 hours, falling short of its intended 24-hour duration. This failure to "last" became an unintended yet profound commentary on sustainability and endurance within systems designed to exploit. This project challenged audiences to confront the fragile and extractive nature of these constructs in an immersive, multi-layered experience.
FULL 11 HOURS BELOW
*UNFORTUNATELY THE AUDIO IS OUT FOR MOST OF IT
“What’s the price of life?
The price of the ticket?
tick tick BOOM
What’s the lowest price?
How am I supposed to live
when they tryna take my life away?
EVERYTHING’S FOR SALE?
EVERYTHING MUST GO!
BLOW BLOW BLOWOUT!
BIG HUGE SALE!
A SALE OF A LIFETIME”
- ATLAS B COMPLEX
BELOW ARE VIDEOS FROM
THE REHEARSAL/DEVELOPMENT PROCESS
THE REHEARSAL/DEVELOPMENT PROCESS