Erased Lynching, Set 5, 2024Luis De Jesus Los Angeles is pleased to announce a major acquisition of photographs by Ken Gonzales-Day by the Yale University Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library.
This acquisition marks the largest accession by an institution of the artist’s Erased Lynchings photographs, and includes the complete series of five distinct sets (Erased Lynchings I-V) encompassing a total of 75 unique prints created from images collected by the artist over 25 years. We extend our sincere gratitude to curators Dr. Sarah Keyes, Sandra Sánchez, and Nancy Kuhls, and the acquisitions committee.
Ken Gonzales-Day, Erased Lynchings III, 2019. Erased Lynching Series (2002-ongoing). Set of 15 unique prints. Archival inkjet on rag paper mounted on cardstock, 6 x 4.5 in (15.2 x 11.4 cm) each approx; Edition 5 of 6.
The Erased Lynching series (2002-ongoing) is a conceptual photographic project created by Ken Gonzales-Day to address the history of lynching in this country, which has historically erased or diminished the impact of lynching on Mexican, Latin American, Native American, Asian, and other immigrant communities in California and across the nation.
Gonzales-Day reclaims the history of racialized vigilantism in the United States by working directly with archival souvenir postcards, newspapers, and photographs documenting historical mob violence. He scans the historical lynching images and digitally erases the victims’ bodies and the ropes, leaving only the physical landscape and the gathered crowds. By removing the focal point of the violence, the viewer’s attention is forcibly redirected to the perpetrators, onlookers, and spectators. The series forces the viewer to analyze the jeering, casual attitudes of the mobs, transforming a macabre souvenir into a critique of everyday white supremacy.
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Learn more about the Erased Lynchings.