Police violence is a topic (a cause? a tragedy? a travesty? a crime?) that not only captured our national attention this past year, it angers me to my very core. I believe it to be so widespread as to be a public health crisis, one that especially affects black & brown Americans. In Los Angeles, artist Cara Levine is putting on a show of handmade representations of items that police mistook for a gun, thus leading to an unnecessary and often deadly civilian police shooting–items like a toy truck, sun glasses, a soda can, a hair brush.

She has worked in wood, but over the course of her project, she has invited other activists and co-artists to lead events where members of the public could make clay versions of the items as well. A book has been made from the experiences of this project as well.

But this past year, and the death of George Floyd in particular, has led her to question her place as a white woman in the Black Lives Matter movement. A fascinating project. If you’re in LA, you can make an appointment to see the exhibit, as described in this Guardian article. The artist Cara Levine’s website describes all three parts of this project. And the book specifically is available here.