vanessa german (United States, b. 1976). Reality Check: To Call the Police Use this Phone (back view), 2013
Mixed media assemblage. The Studio Museum in Harlem; bequest of Peggy Cooper Cafritz (1947– 2018), Washington, D.C. collector, educator, and activist
© vanessa german
As a self-taught visual storyteller, vanessa german works across sculpture, performance, photography, and community-led rituals to expose, repair, and restructure trauma-induced spaces and systems. The artist’s practice centers around promoting healing, tenderness, and raising consciousness. With Reality Check: To Call Police Use This Phone, german gifts viewers a talisman to provide safety and relief in replacement of calling the police.
