Black Gold is a series of photographs documenting 2,000 grains of rice, each given its own individual “portrait”. The grains are all from the same package of Gold Carolina Rice known for its high quality and purity. The history of this particular rice is part of the story of the slavery of African-Americans. The company manufacturing this brand used to buy African slaves specifically for their experience in growing rice as well as their ability to adapt to Carolina’s hot and humid climate. There is ironic tension between the erasing of identity on the one hand, while on the other, the demand for superior craftsmanship and tells us of the hierarchy inherent in slavery. Isolating the rice grains compels us to observe each grain as an individual, and allows us to examine the tension between each and the group.