Sociopolitical
ADRIFT, 32.5” H x 16.5” W x 2” D
CONFLAGRATION, 30.5” H x 22.25” W x 2” D
BRUISED SKY, 35” x 60” x 2”
This piece was sparked by the events of the past several years. Bruised Sky represents the death of democracy by a thousand cuts. The phrase “death by a thousand cuts” comes from a form of torture and execution used in China from roughly 900 CE up until the practice ended around the early 1900s.
SIX FEET UNDER - AN AMERICAN RETABLO, 66” x 25” x 2” (SOLD)
Evoking the dimensions of a burial plot, this piece was first conceived in 2019 with work beginning in earnest on it during the impeachment proceedings of The United States’ 45th President. The sociopolitical statement is visually subtle. The Statue of Liberty and shovel are not immediately noticeable, indicative of our numbness to the erosion of democracy, societal norms, and common decency. We are being buried literally and figuratively.
side detail
detail
STILL LIFE, 73” x 43” x 2” wood, discarded furniture parts, steel
This piece is about loss, how life upon the death of a loved one feels flat and bleached of color.
THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW (Portrait of a Schizophrenic), 50” x 38” x 2”
This is a low relief assemblage including personal letters, , E.E.Cummings poem excerpts, clippings from anarchist pamphlets, and Bible pages. It is a portrait of my brother Mathew who passed in August 2023. He dealt with chronic schizophrenia for 48 years, having his first hospitalization at the age of 15. It is a tribute to his indomitable and positive spirit and his willingness to believe in miracles.
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, nearly one in five U.S. adults live with a mental illness (46.6 million in 2017) with 4.6% of U.S. adults experiencing a severe mental illness like schizophrenia (11.4 million people in 2018). There is a need to not only change the conversation around mental illness and its health care, but summon the willingness and commitment as a society to make this a priority. Recognition and education are vitally important to removing the stigma.