Randy Williams was born in 1947 in New York City, New York, where he currently lives and works. Williams received his BS from New York University and a Masters Degree in Art Education from Sir George Williams University in Montreal. The artist’s work in assemblage, what he calls “constructions,” brings together seemingly disparate materials and references and proposes new ways of thinking about cultural figures, launches critiques of inequality and injustice, and pays homage to what inspires and motivates him. In one such work, AIDS Not So Holy (1982), Williams has carved out a small square in the center of the Holy Bible’s cover and placed an unopened condom wrapper inside, the Bible is flanked by a postcard of Ronald Reagan on the left and the word “AIDS” repeated in a single column on the right. AIDS Not So Holy serves to critique the political and social actors who, in the midst of a public health epidemic, refused to provide care or compassion to the victims. Other works, like George Jackson and St. Joan of Arc (1984), draw comparisons between contemporary and historical figures and allow audiences to reframe common narratives. Williams’ works use our shared material culture to reflect the injustices he witnessed and encountered growing up between New York City and the American South.