With Child

AA pregnant enslaved woman on the auction block, surrounded by buyers who viewed her pregnancy as added value. Enslaved women were routinely sold while pregnant because the unborn child increased the profit. One body guaranteeing another. I painted her rough, uneven, and broken on purpose, because that’s how she was treated: handled, examined, and talked about like livestock. The slavers around her are rendered smoother and cleaner, because in that world their lives were polished and protected while hers was dissected and priced. My goal was for this piece to show/make the power imbalance unavoidable. The people who controlled everything stand untouched, while the woman carrying two lives stands worn down.