ICP Teen Academy

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Elijah “The Liar” Chapman




I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of Amerikkka, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under !$@, indivisible, with liberty and ?ustice for €%£. This graphic imagery is imprinted in the eyes of our youth—lessons learned to save thou from ?ustice and a rat race filled with one species. Our country was created with the ideal of freedom coming first, a hierarchy run by the Amerikkkan people. But growing up in Amerikkka, I have learned that not all Amerikkkan people are subject to Amerikkkan rights. I have learned that this hierarchy was created by the majority at the expense of the minority. I have learned that power is a birthright and freedom is a privilege. This project shares my perspective on the Black Amerikkkan experience and our history in the land of the free. This is our country in Black & White—the way it has always been.
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Elijah Chapman is an artist who photographs under the name “The Liar.” As a young Black male growing up in Brooklyn, New York, he uses photography as an artistic form to dissect the various components that make up his unique identity, bridging gaps between his perspective of the world and reality. The Liar is currently a student in the International Center of Photography’s Teen Academy Imagemakers program.