Racist Butt Gun, by T, North Carolina, pencil and crayon

North Carolina’s T has never hid from the spotlight. His multi-panel installation in Salt Lake City’s airport depicting Brigham Young as an organ grinder and his monkey earned him eternal banishment from the Mormon hotbed. And by the looks of his latest work, a stunning crayon and pencil joint entitled “Racist Butt Gun”, T seems to be making himself quite at home in the bright white glare. It’s hard to say what’s more shocking; the pale-skinned blond form attacking a clearly African-American figure, the raised-arm mirrored acts of surrender, or the powerful butt gun capable of creating a heart-sized hole in its prey. Both sides claim innocence here, but it’s clear to T who wields the power. The victim’s see-through pants only enhance the absurdity of the scene; a scene in which a butt gun can not only fire with deadly accuracy without need of a hand or arm to steady it, but somehow curve its bullet’s flight 45 degrees upward. Regardless of how it looks, T reminds us, it’s rarely as easily explained as black and white. Sometimes it’s more about the butt gun.