On January 6, 2021, Proud Boy Enrique Tarrio posted a video of himself standing in front of the U.S. Capitol in a black mask and cape. I couldn’t stop thinking I’d seen a similar mask before—in a 19th-century photo taken near my hometown.
The mask belonged to the Bald Knobbers, a vigilante group that had sprung up in the Ozarks after the Civil War. They were everyday citizens who swore to protect their community from lawlessness. By the time they disbanded, 17 people were killed, plus countless reports of floggings, arson, and lynchings. The Bald Knobbers became the terror they swore to defeat.
“Teeth of the Wolf” interrogates the story of these men. It’s a history obfuscated by secrecy and whitewashed through decades of mythology and commercialization.
A vigilante is defined as “a self-appointed doer of justice.” The Bald Knobbers are an obscure part of a sweeping American legacy, one that uses violence to maintain power perceived to be under threat. Today, this manifests as border militias, paramilitary groups, and organizations like the Proud Boys. They are mostly white men, driven by secrecy, grievance, and a belief they have the right to step in as the true authority when the government fails them.
“Teeth of the Wolf” drags these machinations into the light, examining them as a cyclical part of our nation’s history. The goal is to extend the Bald Knobbers’ legacy beyond its origins, revealing how their tactics haven’t disappeared, but have merely mutated.
Artist Bios
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Jenna Garrett
Jenna Garrett is an artist living in San Francisco, California. Her current practice focuses on the Ozarks in southwest Missouri where she was born. Garrett is interested in nationalism, mythmaking, and its consequences in American culture.
Her project “This Holy Hill” wrestles with Garrett’s Evangelical upbringing by examining the religion’s influence in the rural tourist town of Branson, Missouri. Her current project, “Teeth of the Wolf,” traces an obscure group of post-Civil War vigilantes as a method to investigate militia violence in the United States today.
Garrett is an Aperture Portfolio Prize Longlist recipient 2024, PhMuseum Women Photographers Grant Shortlist recipient 2024, Silver Eye Fellowship Award Honoree 2022, and CATALYST mentee 2021. Her work has been shown at the Aperture Gallery, Bristol Photo Festival, Format Photo Festival, and PhotoVogue Festival. She holds a master’s degree in fine art photography from the London College of Communication.
Organizations
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Photoville
Founded in 2011 in Brooklyn, NY, Photoville was built on the principles of addressing cultural equity and inclusion, which we are always striving for, by ensuring that the artists we exhibit are diverse in gender, class, and race.
In pursuit of its mission, Photoville produces an annual, city-wide open air photography festival in New York City, a wide range of free educational community initiatives, and a nationwide program of public art exhibitions.
By activating public spaces, amplifying visual storytellers, and creating unique and highly innovative exhibition and programming environments, we join the cause of nurturing a new lens of representation.
Through creative partnerships with festivals, city agencies, and other nonprofit organizations, Photoville offers visual storytellers, educators, and students financial support, mentorship, and promotional & production resources, on a range of exhibition opportunities.
For more information about Photoville visit, www.photoville.com
Teeth of the Wolf
Featuring: Jenna Garrett
Locations
View Location Details Brooklyn Bridge Park – Emily Warren Roebling Plaza1 Water St
Brooklyn, NY 11201
This location is part of Brooklyn Bridge Park
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The views and opinions expressed in this exhibit are those of the exhibition artists and partners and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of Photoville or any other participants and partners of the Photoville Festival.
