After Heather Heyer was killed amid Unite the Right protests in Charlottesville, Virginia, in August 2017, President Donald Trump remarked that there were āvery fine people on both sides.ā
Now the Dodge Challenger driven by the man who mowed her down is part of an artwork at Lisa Sette Gallery in Phoenix, where the āSubversive Whiteā exhibit calls out racism in subtle and not-so-subtle ways.
Claudio Dicochea used various shades of white for 081217, which features the artistās take on three cars he associates with American racism, consumerism, and violence. Theyāre hidden in plain sight, until you know what to look for, much like racism grows more glaring once itās called out.

Trina McKillen, The Children (Communion Dress), 2015-2018. Irish linen, thread, gold leaf, 25.5" x 16.5", hanging dimensions can vary.
Courtesy of Lisa Sette Gallery
Inside a small alcove, Sette has placed a white communion dress with an embroidered serpent, created by Trina McKillen to call the Catholic church to account for its own sins. Itās set opposite a sculpture by Angela Ellsworth, comprising a bonnet made with thousands of pearl corsage pins, which references patriarchal power structures in the Mormon church.

Fiona Pardington, Phrenology Head, Le Kremlin-BicĆŖtre Hospital, Paris 2011 (With thanks MusĆ©ede lāHomme (MusĆ©um National dāHistoire Naturelle), Paris), 2018. Archival photographic print with Hahnemuhle paper43" x 32.5" image size unframed / 52.75" x 41.75" framed. Edition of 10.
Courtesy of Lisa Sette Gallery
Several of the artists worked with mostly white materials. But others, including Enrique Chagoya, went in a totally different direction. His colorful, accordion-style painting called Aliens in Borderlandia playfully challenges ethnic and gender stereotypes, even as Trump continues to vilify immigrants and call for a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.
āSubversive Whiteā includes several conceptual artworks, but artist Ann Morton took a more direct approach, creating a series of white handmade handkerchiefs embroidered with snippets of Trumpās own words in blue, altered using red editing marks. Proof-Reading #3 plays with one of Trumpās favorite phrases: no collusion.
A small exhibition catalog includes information on every artwork and artist, including a pair of photographs with meanings that arenāt clear unless you know the backstory. Fiona Pardington photographed a medical model once used to promulgate the idea of ethnic superiority. Rob Kinmonth photographed a set of George Washingtonās dentures, conjectured to contain teeth pulled from mouths of slaves at Mount Vernon.

Ann Morton, Proof-Reading #3 (collusion), 2018. Handmade handkerchief with embroidery, 12" x 12" hanging dimensions 4" x 15" x 3".
Courtesy of Lisa Sette Gallery
In some cases, these artists draw on their own personal experiences.
Ben Durham created a portrait from a mugshot, filling it with words rooted in memories of the teen acquaintance, then placing it over a chain link fencing as a way to highlight disparities in the criminal justice system. Sonya Clark created a flag-like form using African braids made with thread that resembles human hair, for a piece that reflects her African and Scottish heritage.
Some works focus on the perpetrators of racism. Others highlight those who resist it.
Mark Mitchellās Cracker Party, a white sculpture resembling a bomb, pays homage to an intersectional armed resistance group active in the Pacific Northwest during the late ā60s and early ā70s. Julianne Swartzās Stretch Drawing (Thick Jut) conveys individual and collective struggles to break though oppressive power structures.
The show also includes works by Carrie Marill, Ato Ribeiro, and Hank Willis Thomas. Together, these artists highlight the racism that permeates American culture, and the resistance seeking to root it out. But the exhibit also makes one thing abundantly clear: White supremacy is gaining dangerous momentum during the Trump era.
āSubversive White.ā Continues through Saturday, April 27, at Lisa Sette Gallery, 210 East Catalina Drive. The exhibition is free. lisasettegallery.com.
Correction: An earlier version of this article had the name of the exhibit reversed.