Cover Up (The Reveal), Thomas J Price, 2019 Bronze Sculpture, at Humber College, Toronto
Courtesy of the Rennie Collection, Vancouver
From the plaque at the statue:
In this monumental bronze sculpture, British artist Thomas J Price (b.1981, London, UK) compels us to examine and question the biases and assumptions held towards black men in public spaces, particularly those wearing articles ,of clothing deemed threatening by the media. The facial and bodily features that comprise Cover Up (The Reveal) are drawn from multiple sources and are therefore not representative of a single person - a mode of representation Price calls 'psychological portraiture'.
Held in the moment of either pulling his hood over his head or removing it, the figure's in-between state lends itself to a layered interpretation. The subject is shielding himself from violence and prejudice while simultaneously making such positions visible. In this way. Price presents us with an 'ordinary man' whose gesture is both universal and human, creating space for the viewer to bring their own reading to the work.
The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery and Humber College present Price's work outside of C Cottage, a central node for the Faculty of Social and Community Services, as an opportunity for community building through positive engagement, reflection and dialogue as Price asks us to become aware of our inherent (and inherited) biases and prejudices.
The sculpture can be found on the Humber College campus just south of Lake Shore Blvd. just off of Colonel Samuel Smith Park Dr. (which is what Kipling Ave. becomes), in south Etobicoke.
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