Black Money Matter, 2016
This painting was initially one piece in a larger installation that Halsey created as a full- throated celebration of locally owned small businesses in South Central Los Angeles. In that original context the painting served as a clear statement of empowerment, a call for local business owners and entrepreneurs to take ownership of their own communities. On it’s own, the painting now may offer an alternate read, perhaps suggesting that within a capitalist economy it is the power of money that seems to matter above all else. FUBU, 2012 Halsey’s drawing represents a systematic accounting of all the business signage in the artist’s home neighborhood—a predominantly African-American area of South Central Los Angeles. But her image only includes the signage of businesses owned by those from outside the community. This exclusive focus on outsider presence highlights some potentially positive opportunities for cross-cultural interactions (note the many beauty salons and Asian restaurants) but it also calls attention to the abundance of businesses that capitalize on the weaknesses of lower-income neighborhoods, exploiting the community’s limited resources for financial gain.
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