Arthur Jafa, the artist who has mastered the art of the assemblage and collage, is currently the star of I Am Tony at the New Museum in New York. His work, which delves into the history of Black music, religion, American cinema, and the internet, is as dense as it is thought-provoking.

One of the pieces, titled Allegiance, is a wall-to-wall black-and-white image of 19th-century Black schoolchildren performing a Sieg Heil-like gesture. The solemnity of the subjects and the melancholic effect of their clustering in the frame, combined with the juxtaposition of the patriotic salute, creates a powerful commentary on the history of American identity.

Another standout is Rwanda, 1999, a wallpaper-sized photograph of bloodied garments at the Murambi Genocide Memorial in Rwanda. The piece serves as a stark reminder of the atrocities of the past and prompts viewers to reflect on the ongoing genocides elsewhere.

The exhibition, Jafa’s largest to date, aims to explore themes in more idiosyncratic and brash ways. His characteristic gallows humor and intuitive grasp of memes and virality make his work resonate with a wide audience, from the art world to the internet-savvy.

Through his work, Jafa challenges us to question the narratives we consume and the images we see, suggesting that every image might contain a deeper, more complex story.