God Complex

Nicholas Galanin’s work is rooted in his perspective as an Indigenous man connected to the land and culture he belongs to. In his own words, Galanin describes his piece as follows: "God Complex stretches riot police armor into the shape of a Christ figure; crucified without a cross or body. The work makes visible the American belief and faith in the police state."

"[It] referenc[es] the long history of colonial states’ use of religion to justify its violence, and the histories of violence directed at Indigenous peoples by the church itself. God Complex is the regalia of a monster, enforcing power structures that subjugate those who worship at its feet, attempting the erasure of those who do not.”