In this illusionary composition, Miss Chiquita holds a jack-in-the-box banana with its jumping sock monkey character. Here, Smith creates images from Noah’s Ark and Jim Crow tropes to George Floyd, using his creative process to guide this discordant narrative.

The racist association with monkeys and apes has been used to justify slavery, segregation, and other forms of racial discrimination. Over time, efforts have been made to combat and challenge such harmful stereotypes, but they unfortunately persist in some individuals and communities.