Post Graduate Residency Program
Torpedo Factory Art Center in Alexandria, VA
January-March of 2024 I took over the first floor studio of the Torpedo Factory Art Center as their resident artist. The program catered to emerging artists who had recently graduated from a degree program and sought the time, space, and support to develop their studio practice. During this time, I continued a newer body of work responding to the rise of American fascism, the climate crisis, and the unfolding genocide in Gaza. The resulting work included drawings, mixed media embroideries, and poetic text installation.
Living in the Age of Martyrs
A large capstone piece of this residency was a continuation of the white charcoal on black paper drawings of smoke. They revolved around the urgent fears relating to the climate crisis, the rise of American fascism, and the unknown of apocalypse.
Bearing witness to the genocide in Palestine impacted my work in and out of the studio during this time and this particular work reflects this focus.
The primary image was drawn in reference to a bomb dropped in the Gaza strip by Israel. In speaking about ongoing war crimes in which I had no direct experience with other than my country’s complacence, I needed to be very specific and careful with my message. The bottom text acknowledges my role in these events in bearing witness both as an artist and as a citizen of the empire.
May each thread of blood cells be Blessed
In our days of experiencing and witnessing global trauma, being weighed down by personal trauma, and weeping through futile cauterization, I don't know what our future holds. We hope to see our wounds cleaned, tended and kissed. We need others to hold the needle. We need to hold the needle for someone else. We cannot find tenderness alone and we cannot hope to receive it when we do not provide it. Each wound is a scar and a memory of what we have endured and what others could not. A relic of our struggles. Keep going, ask for help, provide the support that is needed.
