Points of departure:

Chapter I: March 13, 2001
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Disposable Labor (2001) Giclée print, 24”x30”

This photograph was taken by Chiraag at age 23 in the act of getting laid off by his then boss at the tail end of the dot-com boom. This experience for him was a learning moment about disposable labor, and how actions like this protect capital accumulation during economic shifts.
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“I entered the job market after graduating college with a BFA in Graphic Design during the Dot-com boom, when opportunities seemed limitless. I started working for a small design studio in the East Village (NY) that sold me on the print-related projects for the music industry I would be working on. That never happened. I ended up working on branding for online spaces for various corporations and start-ups. It wasn’t my favorite, but the  money and debauchery in the work environment softened the blow. 

Money was flowing during this era—investors poured cash into internet startups that had no revenue, no profits, and unproven business models. Like many small companies at that time, their workforce grew rapidly after I joined, not because more projects were coming in to justify it, but because valuations were based on future potential, and showing the inflation of the workforce itself became a valuable asset. Their goal was to get bought out by a larger company and cash out.

A year into the job, the owners of the studio succeeded, which then resulted into layoffs. My boss called us into his office individually the morning of March 13, 2001. When my turn came around, I walked in with my pocket digital camera (Canon ELPH) in tow. I took the camera out in the middle of the layoff process and snapped a photo of him. I remember him being pretty pissed, saying “what the fuck are you doing?” I replied “It’s an important day for me. I need to remember this.“

Chapter II: September 11, 2001
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Blowback (self portrait), (2021) Giclée print, 24”x30”

While living in Manhattan, this event opened  Chiraag’s eyes to various layers of the empire including the theory of imperial boomerang and blowback. The event helped the US government create new agencies including: the TSA, I.C.E., Department of Homeland Security. Laws like the Patriot Act, expanding surveillance. As well as excuses for their invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan — resulting in around 4.5-4.7 million people dying in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen, and Pakistan, between 2001-2023.

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“Like most growing up in the US, Patriotism was forced upon me from an early age. I grew up going to a predominantly white Catholic school, and was othered from the start. Each morning started with catholic prayers and a pledge of allegiance to the flag. Depression was one of the side effects while digesting the experience. Both patriotism and racism amplified after the events of September 11th. This shift in thinking added new layers of clarity while navigating the gauntlet of being American.”

Chapter III: October, 2001
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Somebody Blew Up America
(2001) poem by Amiri Baraka, Audio and 36”x 110” Print
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Audio of Baraka performing the poem while accompanied by a rendition of “Misterioso” by Thelonious Monk played throughout the space. 

Poet, Playwright, and Activist Amiri Baraka (LeRoi Jones) wrote the anti-imperialist poem “Somebody Blew Up America” shortly after September 11th. This poem is neither a lament for the nearly three thousand people who lost their lives on that day nor an uplifting tribute to the wounded American spirit, nor, a call for speedy revenge. Instead, the poem challenges the narrative of American exceptionalism and offers an arresting diatribe against the evils of imperialism and the attendant evils of racism as the main forces of injustice. Reframing the 9/11 attacks as "blowback" for centuries of global oppression and western violence. Instead of treating 9/11 as an isolated incident committed solely by foreign actors, Baraka utilizes an aggressive, rhythmic refrain—constantly repeating the question "Who?"—to demand accountability for thousands of years of historical injustices.

Baraka was awarded Poet Laureate of New Jersey a year earlier in 2000. He first publicly read the poem in 2002 at the height of nationwide patriotism. Flags were everywhere; Brown people doubling down their patriotism to make it clear they were not one of the “bad ones”; while Bush’s approval rating reaching 90%

Governor Jim McGreevey (NJ) as well as the ADL demanded Baraka’s apology for the “offensive passages” as well as his resignation. In early October 2002, Baraka defended his views in a speech given at the Newark Public Library, later published in CounterPunch. Baraka refused to apologize or step down, invoking the right to free speech. After multiple attempts, the state failed to force him to quit. New Jersey law at the time did not allow the governor to strip the title directly, so the state legislature passed a bill in 2003 that completely eliminated the position of poet laureate, revealing the thin skin of the oppressors. Amiri Baraka was the last poet laureate of NJ.

This is how a piece of art abolished an institution.

K.K.K-Blam!
(2026) Cotton flag, starch, wire and pole, 36”x60”

Who? Who? Who? Who?
(2026), Silver mylar inflatable question marks and letters with helium and oxygen; sizes vary

Chapter I: March 13, 2001
Disposable Labor
(2001) Giclée print, 24”x30”

Chapter II: September 11, 2001
Blowback (self portrait)
(2021) Giclée print, 24”x30”

Chapter III: October, 2001
Somebody Blew Up America
(2001) poem by Amiri Baraka, Audio and 36”x 110” Print
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Audio of Baraka performing the poem while accompanied by a rendition of “Misterioso” by Thelonious Monk played throughout the space. 

Like An Owl Who Know The Devil (self portrait)
(2026) Giclée print, 24”x30”

Ways To Perfect Health
(2024) Found Object (Shirt)

“I Found this shirt on my trip to Goa in 2024, while attending an art residency. I thought it summarized the American ethos. Muah!”

Never Fuhgeddaboudit
(2026) Giclée print,  24”x30”
Meme Humor. 

“Making myself laugh is the only way I’m gonna get through this. Helps me digest the constant bombardment of white supremecy we’re swimming in.”

Cake with Strawberry Filling, Sugar Owls, and “?” candles—Quarter Sheet Cake, 9”x13”

“This was the second option for the image printed on the cake, Safeway deemed the first image ‘inappropriate’”

Atta
(2026) Acrylic paint, toner and stickers 8”x10”

K.K.K-Blam! (negative space)
(2026) Leftover pieces of Cotton flag