Repossessions is a group exhibition inspired by the concept of reparations: the effort to repair the economic and psychological devastation caused by slavery for descendants of enslaved African Americans. It presents the work of five Black artists commissioned to create artworks based on documents from the enslavement and Jim Crow eras in the United States. Chelle Barbour, Curtis Patterson, Kenyatta A.C. Hinkle (Olomidara Yaya), Marcus Brown, and Rodney Ewing each offer insightful ways to understand the significance of the original documents, which were offered to the artists by white families working toward repair through an initiative of The Reparations Project in collaboration with Reparations4Slavery that date from the 1860s to the early 1900s. Using a variety of visual strategies, the newly produced artworks contribute to viewers’ understanding of the long aftermath of enslavement and the need for reparations.
The featured photomontage collage above, Surreal Plantation (2023), is by Black artist Chelle Barbour. The exhibit is currently hosted by the California African American Museum in Los Angeles until August 5, 2025.
Click to read interviews with independent curator Bridget R. Cooks, project creator Sarah Eisner, Sarah’s Linked Descendant, Randy Quarterman, and a descendant of enslavers Lotte Leib Dula to learn more about the project. Sarah contributed a hand-colored map of rice plantations along the Savannah River. Lotte contributed a page from her ancestor’s plantation account ledger.
