Precious Okoyomon's major installation for the 2024 Whitney Biennial, titled 'Everything wants to kill you and you should be afraid,' opened after a brief delay. The work, featuring around 50 stuffed animals and racist dolls suspended by nooses, was moved from the museum lobby to the eighth floor to provide more space for viewers to engage with its disturbing yet beautiful mix of childhood nostalgia and violence.
The installation, an expanded version of a piece first shown at Kunsthaus Bregenz, solidifies Okoyomon's reputation as a leading sculptor exploring themes of trauma, healing, and the everyday violence of Black existence. Its powerful combination of tender, loved objects and sinister, discarded elements creates a haunting commentary on grief and carnage, making it a standout work in this edition of the prestigious biennial.