The installation features a short film by the same title displayed within a modified Ford Crown Victoria Interceptor.

Crown Victoria Interceptors are a popular vehicle used in police forces across the country. When decommissioned, they are repurposed and sold at auto auctions, often purchased by Black men in urban communities. The irony of the Crown Victoria being a popular car amongst Black men can’t be overstated, but the silhouette of the vehicle continues to have a visceral affect.

The project explores the notion of Black leisure by highlighting spaces where Black men can experience freedom, autonomy, and joy. Few representations of Black life depict these images or even considers these as valid experiences. We Can’t Cop… uses cars as an allegorical as well as a literal suggestion of movement and escapism from the stresses and traumas of the world. From fear, to triumph, to joy and back to reality, the short film uses the aesthetics of magical realism to give viewers a momentary glimpse into the complex emotional landscape of Black male masculinity.

Dr. Fahamu Pecou is an interdisciplinary artist and scholar whose works combine observations on hip-hop, fine art and popular culture. Pecou’s paintings, performance art, and academic work addresses concerns around contemporary representations of Black masculinity and how these images impact both the reading and performance of Black masculinity.

In 2017, Pecou was the subject of a retrospective exhibition “Miroirs de l’Homme” in Paris, France. He is a recipient of the 2016 Joan Mitchell Foundation “Painters and Sculptors” Award. His work is featured in noted private and public national and international collections including; Smithsonian National Museum of African American Art and Culture, Societe Generale (Paris), Nasher Museum at Duke University, The High Museum of Art, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Seattle Art Museum, Paul R. Jones Collection, Clark Atlanta University Art Collection and Museum of Contemporary Art Georgia.

Fahamu received his BFA at the Atlanta College of Art in 1997 and an PhD from Emory University in 2018. Pecou maintains an active exhibition schedule as well as public lectures and speaking engagements at colleges and museums nationwide.