Najee Dorsey, American
Ice Cream Melting, 2019
Part of Artist Najee’s Poor People’s Campaign, Ice Cream Melting depicts the struggle of black communities who live in plain sight of factories and businesses that harm their health. Dorsey purchased a billboard in South Memphis to display this work of digital photomontage, calling attention to air pollution from hazardous chemicals affecting poor people of color in that area. Ice Cream Melting combines an Afrofuturist style with depictions of the American South, capturing how a future filled with corporate greed and segregation creates a toxic landscape harming the nation's youth. The work shows a young Black child holding a SpongeBob popsicle, representing innocence and youth, while an oil refinery is nearby, creating a poisonous haze. Label by Clarissa Cantacuzene