Masculinity is Mass Confinement, 2024

Yusef Pierce

30 x 40 in

Acrylic on Canvas

“Masculinity is Mass Confinement” reflects on the warped sense of masculinity that shaped my path, influenced by figures like Tupac and a lack of strong male role models. The piece explores how masculinity is often equated with violence, how Black men are exploited through the prison industrial complex, and how hyper-sexualization further distorts identity. This work confronts the societal forces that confine Black men within damaging stereotypes.