STRANGE FRUIT / 2024

Concrete Blocks, Steel Nails, Steel Collar & Iron Sphere / 30X30X147CM
Hommage to The Billie Holiday classic “STRANGE FRUIT”, written by Abel Meeropol.

THE “STRANGE FRUIT” OF THE POEM’S TITLE REFERS TO THESE LYNCHING VICTIMS, THE GRUESOME IMAGE OF “BLACK BODIES” HANGING FROM “SOUTHERN TREES” SERVING AS A STARK REMINDER OF HUMANITY’S POTENTIAL FOR VIOLENCE, AS WELL AS THE STAGGERING COST OF PREJUDICE AND HATE.

“Strange Fruit” by Billie Holiday. Released in 1939, it was banned from many radio stations in the U.S. due to its stark depiction of racism and lynching in the South. The song’s haunting lyrics and Billie Holiday’s soulful delivery made it a powerful protest against racial violence.

Strange Fruit / Lyrics

Southern trees bear strange fruit
Blood on the leaves and blood at the root
Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze
Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees
Pastoral scene of the gallant south
The bulging eyes and the twisted mouth
Scent of magnolias, sweet and fresh
Then the sudden smell of burning flesh
Here is fruit for the crows to pluck
For the rain to gather, for the wind to suck
For the sun to rot, for the trees to drop
Here is a strange and bitter crop