In 2016, a controversial marriage scandal stirred the small island nation of the Bahamas. Allegations surfaced that two women had wed, contradicting the Bahamian constitution's definition of marriage as a union strictly between a man and a woman. In reality, the ceremony involved an intersex husband and a visually impaired wife. The wedding's officiant, a prominent politician at the time, redirected the public outcry toward himself, declaring in a press conference:
“i am not a homosexual”
“i’ve never been a homosexual”
“i am not gay”
“i am a sissy”
“i am a man”
Following the intense scrutiny surrounding his sexuality, the politician himself subsequently married. Drawing from local media reports of the quote alongside matching fabrics from the wedding day, Meris created this artwork. “I am a Man” is a universal civil rights slogan which originates from the Black Sanitation Workers Boycott in Memphis, Tennesse in 1968. At The Very Least, My Paper's Straight, (2016) was later featured in the National Exhibition 8 at the National Art Gallery of the Bahamas as part of the Commission of the Queer (CoQ), presented by Jonathan Murray.