Weekend Portfolio: Emile Askey

ⒸEmile Askey, Wonder City Mountain, West Memphis, Arkansas

ⒸEmile Askey, Jhinajah sitting on the steps, Morrow, Georgia

ⒸEmile Askey, I finally found the end of the rainbow but the pot of gold was gone, West Memphis, Arkansas

ⒸEmile Askey, Divided by 35. Austin, Texas

ⒸEmile Askey, Wait long by the river (Aaron)

ⒸEmile Askey, Empty lot behind a pawn shop at 5654 Rivers Avenue

ⒸEmile Askey, Osaze in the morning

ⒸEmile Askey, East Money Church of God In Christ (Maybe)

ⒸEmile Askey, Jhishir, 2021

ⒸEmile Askey, Dayanna in the morning

ⒸEmile Askey, White Jesus casts spell over site of black massacre, Loreauville, Louisiana

Images and Text by Emile Askey

Monuments Are Forever is a meditation on the American landscape and the stories embedded within. It is a search for family, identity, and memory, as well as a document of the embedded beauty and violence of an ever-changing personal and national history. The project began two presidencies ago as a way to retrace family road trips through the southern United States, and the experience of traveling as an interracial family. The “monuments” described in this project are not necessarily the constructed variety that adorn our public spaces and commemorate dead white men. Instead it considers everything that surrounds us as symbolic and monumental, deconstructing the interrelated themes of nation, culture, environment, and loss.

To view more of Emile Askey’s work, visit his website here.