Kapwani Kiwanga’s Glow sculpture series interprets “A Law for Regulating Negro and Indian Slaves in the Night Time,” approved in March 1713 in New York City. This law obliged Black and Indigenous people to carry a lit candle after dark if not accompanied by a White person. Those who did not carry a lit candle could be stopped and seized by anyone. In this manner the policing of people of colour became an activity all were encouraged to undertake.

The placement of marble slabs with light introduces an important layer to Kiwanga’s proposition. She asks us to consider how historical Lantern Laws reflect our current state of surveillance and exclusion, and how a reading of the past and present from the perspective of people of colour is essential for a complete understanding of a common past.