Three female protagonists in Putin on Airs present stereotypes of their roles over hundreds of years. It is unclear whether Venus is sinking or rising into a turbulent abyss as she is historically a model of self-respect. A Black figure walking into the picture has disembarked from a slave ship that has run aground; moving away from 246 years of slavery and 100 years of Jim Crow. The main figure is greeted by a crow with a small minded message. She sees herself as a mascot of white culture in the iconic Betty Boop (1920s) who was influenced by the music and fashion of Black performers.

‘Putin on Airs’ refers to a grotesque image of a Black woman found in David Pilgrim’s, Understanding Jim Crow, 2015. This image, intended to malign the Black female, was likely used to advertise products like skin-lightening cream. Black women were often portrayed as innately promiscuous, even predatory, during the Jim Crow Era (1877-1964).