Tavarus Blackmon

Tavarus Blackmon is an interdisciplinary artist based n in Sacramento. He earned his MFA as a Provost Fellow at the University of California Davis. For this exhibition Tavarus creates an immersive installation Class Trip in the gallery. Class Trip is composed of theatrical-style painting, mixed media and photo-based works which represent abstract ideas about community, law and the difficulties inherent within the urban dialectic. The installation is based around the emergency vehicle: the police cruiser, the ambulance; and public service vehicles: the school bus and the hearse. These vehicles are blended into one form. Tavarus’ work explores systemic racism such as the school to prison pipeline, a vicious cycle of trauma for generations of Black and Brown students. Class Trip invites viewers to see the unfair conditions falling on certain communities and reflect on our responsibilities and roles in these social systems.