| Reflections: An Integrative Examination of Labeling & Identity |
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Note: This body of work contains strong language. It is not intended to offend but rather promote social justice and self examination. Please read the statement below the images to understand the full context. 
As Oliver Wendell Holmes noted, “Language is the blood of the soul into which thoughts run and out of which they grow.” The words you view as part of this body of work are strong. They may incite intense feelings and take you to any point of your emotional spectrum. David's purpose is not to offend any person or group. Instead, he wants to bring attention to the fact that language is frequently used without sufficient consideration about how it may affect others. Some of you may have used these negative labels in the past, or you may still use them. This list of words is only partial. David sincerely hopes that the experience you have when viewing these words encourages you to think reflectively about negative language, which is often applied to various individuals and groups. As you look into the mirror (literally) and consider yourself in the context of these hurtful labels, take the opportunity to consider how using them or not challenging other people who use them can affect those around us. This list of eight words is by no means exhaustive but serves as a starting point. Each of us has a unique history and culture and will be more connected to certain language. David recalls the first time he watched one of his friends get emotionally hammered by hateful words. David and his friend were at the Luzerne County Fair in Lehman, Pennsylvania when David was approximately 15 years old. David ordered a sandwich from a vendor and did so with no problem. When his friend ordered, her reply was much different, and the sting probably lasts to this very day twelve years later. “I don’t serve niggers. Go eat somewhere else.” David naively thought things like that don't happen in this day and age, but they still do. They can be subtle or take a more blatant form like his friend experienced. As David comforted his friend, he realized it would likely take generations to undo just some of the harm that was caused by a few damaging words. May you leave this experience with a renewed sense of connection to yourself and those around you. And in all things, consider what you do and say. Once that sound leaves your mouth, it can never be taken back. This project was supported by the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency, through its regional arts funding partnership, Pennsylvania Partners in the Arts (PPA). State government funding for the arts depends upon annual appropriation by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and support from the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency. PPA is administered in this region by the Scranton Area Foundation. All of the images from this project are displayed above. If you're interested in viewing or exhibiting the whole series of work, please get in touch.
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