HOUSTON, TX.- “Diana Matar’s My America” is a quiet yet chilling critique of the United States – both an archive and a memorial to those who have died in lethal encounters with police. The series challenges viewers to face the reality of America as a carceral state, and to remember the whole and complex lives lived by those who were killed. The exhibit debuts March 6th and runs through May 10th.

My America features photographs taken at the exact locations where individuals were shot or tasered by law enforcement. These images highlight the local, often mundane settings where the fatal incidents occurred: shopping malls, mobile homes, empty fields, and roadside highways. As George Slade wrote in Black and White Magazine, “The photographs do not draw conclusions. What they do capture is a theory about landscape and memory in collision with social history and issues of discrimination. They build a powerful case about contemporary life and death in an unjust America.”

Co-curator Dr. Howard Bossen observed that, “In constructing My America, Diana Matar devoted years capturing the unseen traces of human history. Her work of preserving memory in the face of oblivion is especially vital during a time when the most powerful engage in active efforts at erasure. It is a reminder that simply providing records of what has been—lives lost, families destroyed, and community disrupted—can be an act of resistance when federal agents and local authorities attempt to act with impunity and disappear people off public streets.”

In My America, landscape photographs were made at the location where someone died. If she was unable to determine the precise location of a murder, she photographed the sky as a symbolic representation of the incident. The photos, along with testimonies and histories, were used to create the story about each individual found in the back of her book by the same name. Each image is not just a landscape; it’s also a memorial to the person who died.

Of local relevance, California and Texas had the largest number of extrajudicial killings over the years Diana researched. The exhibition includes 13 images made in Texas. Asked how this endeavor impacted her, she said, “When you work on a project that focuses on a specific injustice, it seems to prime the heart to become more aware of injustices everywhere. I often question the efficacy of photography in bringing about change; however, awareness is necessary, and it is important not to forget.”

Rev. Dr. Colin Bossen, exhibition co-curator and Senior Minister of the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Houston says, “Diana Matar’s My America is much more than a straightforward photography exhibition. It is also a major research project that began with Matar exploring four publicly accessible databases and later included research into ‘police reports, district attorneys’ reports and verified press databases.’ While at first glance, the photographs appear to be simple landscapes, they are multi-dimensional and serve as powerful symbolic representations of where state sanctioned violence took place.”

The exhibition runs at First Unitarian Universalist Church of Houston, 5200 Fannin Street, Houston, TX 77004 from March 6th through May 10th. It will be on view Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 10:00am to 4:00pm, Thursdays from 5:00pm to 8:00pm, Saturdays from 10:00am to 2:00pm, and Sundays from 9:00am to 2:00pm. A curator’s conversation with Dr. Howard Bossen, “Reflections on Diana Matar’s My America,” will take place on March 15th at 10:45am at the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Houston. The Hirsch Library at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, will host a conversation between the artist and Curator of Photography Lisa Volpe on April 11th at 4:00pm. A Unitarian Universalist worship service inspired by and in response to My America will be held on Sunday, April 12th at 9:30am and 11:30am at 5200 Fannin. And Diana Matar will discuss the exhibition on April 12th at 1:00pm, also at 5200 Fannin. All events are free and open to the public.