C3N50R3D, Project Row Houses, 2025. Two- part installation. Four-part multi-channel video installation. One pair of binoculars, two black pedestals, four dummy security cameras, one speaker. One minute audio extraction of Angela Davis's UCLA speech from April 12, 1974 with the word "censored" audibly censored by artist. Original poem presented as text-based video. Collage of various graffiti-based protest art. Various archival footage from several historically censored global movements. Varying run times. Mural painted of a pixelated censored blur on exterior of row house.

As part of Project Row Houses' Round 58 exhibition, "FREE SOMEONE," C3N50R3D offers an immersive portal that confronts viewers with the realities of censorship, surveillance, graffiti, and activism. This participatory performance work places the audience in a space where protest art and global movements intersect, drawing from the artist's own experience of isolation and silencing under surveillance.

On the exterior of the row house, a pixelated censored blur confronts viewers, emulating the censorship Metivier experienced throughout their legal case. As one approaches the entryway, two security cameras visually engage, symbolizing the constant surveillance Metivier faced while the State of Texas observed their every move for two years. The row house is completely draped with blackout curtains, adding an imperceptible dimension to the overall feel of the space, where walls are indistinguishable from the total darkness.

Inside, two additional dummy cameras and a single pair of binoculars are strategically placed, accompanied by instructions on how to view the visuals. Each screen presents four distinct sequences: archival footage of other globally censored movements, an original poem confronting censorship, an 8-minute video of the artist seated on the floor—physically and metaphorically cornered—and a collage of over 20 different forms of graffiti-based protest art.

The accompanying audio features a one-minute extraction from Angela Davis's UCLA speech on April 12, 1974, with the word "censored" audibly obscured by the artist. This speech was delivered as part of the University's Black Women's Spring Forum, where Davis addressed the struggles and accomplishments of Black and other minority women in the U.S. and around the world.

The exhibition as a whole synthesizes Metivier's experience, drawing from three years of isolation and silencing under surveillance as a result of a legal case. The curator personally developed this exhibition in response to Metivier's graffiti case with the city of Houston, which centered on powerful text-based paintings on a prominent city bridge. These messages were created in response to various local and global crises and movements. One of the final conditions of the case, in order to achieve a full dismissal, involved an anti-graffiti campaign in collaboration with the city.

This exhibition served as the pivotal final step needed to dismiss the case, proving successful in its efforts.

Curated by Cydney Pickens.