The Opening Reception of Christina’s Sentencing by Sam Dybeck

Christina’s Sentencing by Sam Dybeck Sacristy Gallery Sunday, September 27, 2026 When I was seven there was a D.A.R.E. assembly at school. When we arrived at the gymnasium there was a man on a motorcycle revving its engine. He wore a white leather outfit with fringe hanging from the underside of the sleeves and had a welcoming grin, nodding to each gawking student who passed him by. The man’s name was Glory. He had a henchman who towered over a red lucite clipboard, directing one special student from each class to the “firing line of recovery”. I was selected. When I turned the corner I was frightened to find that the firing line was a row of students who laid side-by-side on the floor at the end of a small motorcycle ramp. They laid me thirty feet from the ramp between two fifth graders; Chump Spreckels and Doobie Hopegood, both writhed in agony, mumbling sobs about getting crushed by Glory. The P.A. boomed as they announced Glory’s stunt. Those of us on the floor were instructed to say the serenity prayer as we put our faith into Glory’s hands. Henchmen in matching grey suits snapped a cue card in front of a series of cameras accompanied by several news stations. Glory’s tires peeled out across the gym floor as "Natural Born Killaz” played on the loud speaker, the rumbling of the bass and the heavy gas smell intoxicated me. Last I remember was seeing the undercarriage of the motorcycle soaring above me, a red, white, and blue “#2” emblazoned between Glory’s feet. When I awoke they were stitching Doobie up, Glory had landed on him and split him in half hotdog style. Doobie had to spend the summer in a full-body cast and was prescribed hydrocodone for recovery. I wrote H.A.G.S. on his cast. Sam Dybeck (b. 1998) is an artist, curator, and print production worker living in Chicago. In 2020 he obtained a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Photography and Experimental Media from California State University Fullerton. Additionally, Dybeck co-directs Weatherproof in Chicago. His works have been exhibited in Chicago, Hamburg, Los Angeles, Nashville, St. Paul, and Kansas City.