Destini T. Riley

Welcome to the Bull

Destini T. Riley is an interdisciplinary artist, who primarily works in video, animation, and interactive media. Within every project, she is intrigued by the power of expression and voice. As a Black woman raised in Durham, North Carolina, she is often in search of the means to bridge and comprehend her experiences with race, class, community, and culture through her creative practice. Welcome to the Bull is a seven-foot, three-dimensional, multimedia monument that can be engaged in diverse environments through the use of augmented reality. Grounded by the history of Durham, NC, which in the early 1900s was the capital of the Black middle class in America, this project presents current challenges residents encounter such as racial tensions, crime, poverty, and gentrification. Amid the 2020 George Floyd protests, Destini was inspired by the space she and other community members occupied as she transformed the plywood of her family’s boarded-up restaurant with a mural that demanded justice and healing. This immersive monument continues the community-wide sense of reflection which includes recorded statements that foster connectedness and invites opportunities for advocacy, and self-expression while eliminating the current restrictions of gathering.