In the midst of dealing with exhausting symptoms of covid, i found out my work at Union Station (the central transportation hub in downtown Toronto) had been defaced. Someone drew a slave collar and chain around the neck of @gloria_c_swain_artist, the central subject of the photograph. We have since learned it had been up like that, with no report made, with no alarm sounded, for a week before Gloria herself visited the work and saw it. A slave collar, for those unfamiliar, was a technology used by a slavers to discipline people who were enslaved and tried to free themselves. They were heavy iron chokers with bells often attached to the ends and prongs poking out to prevent the person from being able to sleep. They are also the stuff of nightmares that little black kids grow up hearing about and seeing when we are first taught about slavery. Gloria had to alert security, she had to have them call the police and then had to explain what it was and why this was a hate crime. The work was replaced but the damage its caused remains. This type of violence stuns you even when we are cautioned to anticipate it. What made matters worse is that the symbology of violence towards Black people was so illegible that Gloria herself had to educate those who were responsible for protecting this work and not another soul in this busy hub thought to say something. Thanks to auntie Gloria for holding us down in all the ways you do. Its the exact reason you are front and center in that image. And @angelynsayshi for reporting on this.