Art and Artists
CW: discussion of racism, sexual assault, homelessness, violence against protestors, incarceration, and misogyny
Left: Cristina Mora, Self-Growth: Intellectual, Archival Pigment Print, 12”x18”
Right: Self-Growth: Environmental, Archival Pigment Print, 12”x18”
There is societal disapproval placed on people living with mental illness. This series aims to showcase that every aspect of our well-being is as important as the next. Self-Growth focuses on the importance of taking care of ourselves through six principles to achieve balance in wellness: physical, environmental, intellectual, emotional, social, and spiritual. The work may prompt viewers to ask, why is there a disparity between being physically unwell versus emotionally or mentally ill?
Arleth Arellano, BernaBella, oil on canvas, 18″ x 14″
It is important to be a voice for the unheard. I felt this value as a calling when trying to comprehend and express the struggles of the female experience. By taking a closer look into history, one can notice that not much has changed regarding injustices felt by indigenous women, despite society modernizing around them. Many indigenous women continue to have little access to education and are oppressed in expressing what they believe or making their own decisions. Some seek to break the mold by doing domestic work or selling art and flowers. Despite maintaining their children and families while doing so, they feel a constant pressure to not deviate from the status quo— this pressure, often originating from those who these women are maintaining. Ingenious women need to be honored and celebrated as matriarchs of society. I want this piece to be a voice of empowerment for indigenous women in an expressive form of solidarity for gender equality and against working-woman discrimination.
Sefunmi Adebanwo, Restrained, digital photograph, archival ink printed on enhanced matte paper, 20″ x 30″
My work is inspired by the injustices faced by rape victims in the military and civilian life. They are often blamed for their circumstances. I use silhouettes to emphasize that anyone could be a victim. My artwork intends to give these victims a voice and empower both them and their families.
Rainn Jackson, Body Sellers, Zine, 6” x 10”
This zine is an exploration of the selling of the body. Under capitalism, we are all expected to sell our body in some way; most of us sell our time and skills in order to earn a wage and support ourselves. Included are interviews with people who have engaged in wage labor as well as sex work. Each interviewee explains how sex work has been better or worse for them compared to wage labor.
Kristian Fields, Where Does All the Pain Go?, paracord, yarn, and hexcel wrap on metal hoops, 60”x19”, photo by Drew Stauss
My work considers the qualities of cultural damage and the intersection between tangible bodies, exterior experiences, and shifting sensations induced by trauma. I interlaced this piece with permeable materials, creating forms that act as receptors for ongoing political and socio-cultural events. By creating this work, I become more connected with my surroundings and the way these externalities play a role in my ephemeral identity.
Maleah Slade, Mask Off, Monoprint with oil-based ink, 46″ x 14″
The Mask Off series is a deep dive into the Black identity during the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests. The mask represents the façade Black people put on every day in order to appease their non-Black companions as well as the masks we have had to wear throughout the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Tired of the endless violence, and numb to the pain, the African American individual in these prints slowly works their way, print through print, to peel off their mask. In the end, the individual can only stare at the remains of the pretense they held on to for so long.
Danae Antoine, Santa Lucia, Patron of the Protestors, 24” x 24”
This piece reflects on the difficult period during the protests within the summer of 2020. Santa Lucia refers to my homeland, Saint Lucia. This saint has her eyes removed, and she is often depicted with her eyes in her hands. In front of a fractured halo. I’ve reconfigured Santa Lucia to protect and memorialize those who have been maimed or killed by the “less lethal” weapon, the rubber bullet.
Izzy Romano, Medici Lillith in the Bath, Photograph, 13″ x 19″
This image references The Medici Venus, a classical Hellenistic marble sculpture depicting the Greek goddess of love Aphrodite exiting the bath. Historically speaking Venus has been a character who has been used as a scapegoat for the male gaze and objectification of women’s bodies. With the words “she knows you’re watching her” written in Italian at the bottom of the photograph, this image turns this narrative around. Lilith is a Christian character and also a symbol of women’s empowerment. She is Adam’s first wife who rejected being viewed as anything but an equal to a man. As this Lilith sits in the bath she puts the viewer in an uncanny position, challenging them to question why they are watching.
Abby Cook, I May Never Be Free, cardboard and paint, 18 inches by 18 inches, photographed by Parker Thornton.
I May Never Be Free is a wearable sculpture dealing with the aftereffects of incarceration. There is this idea that once people are free, their problems are solved. However, the real issues have only just begun. Finding a job, education, and employment are often the tip of the iceberg. The ensuing battle is with complete ostracization and a lack of resources that leads to poor coping mechanisms, further trauma, and, occasionally, reincarceration. The viewer is encouraged to wear the sculpture, made from cardboard as to be light enough to wear, to experience the feeling of being trapped.
Maddock Thomas, (Dis)possession, Collaged digital photographs, 14″ x 21″
This work originates from a series of photographs I took throughout 2020, when I was regularly biking and photographing throughout downtown Atlanta. I noticed the many piles of belongings strewn through the streets of Atlanta, frequently unnoticed by passersby. By focusing on these possessions, I hoped to evoke the contradictions inherent in lives so forcibly exposed but that much of the public would rather ignore.
