Can you explain the concept behind this artwork?
This piece came from a long walk through brambly woods, and work I was doing with Certain Days: Freedom for Political Prisoners Calendar. I was thinking about the feeling of moving through brambles and engaging directly with hard prickly things rather than avoiding them, and thinking about all the incredible people I know who are staying with the trouble and working within hard and horrible systems to engage in liberation work, specifically around prisoner solidarity.
What drew you to art as a medium of resistance?
I’ve always used art as a medium to engage with the world, and so as I became more aware of the world my art turned more political. When I started organizing it was through the lens of organizing of artists to make political art in support of various movements, which is work I am still engaged in today.
Where do you draw inspiration from?
I am inspired by the people around me dedicating their lives to creative resistance, power-building, and mutual aid organizing. I’m truly in awe of the communities of care and communities of resistance that exist in this world, and honored when I get to play even small parts in them. I like to draw small things that remind me of these feelings of connectedness and resistance, like plants that I have a relationship with, birds that inspire me with feelings of freedom and autonomy, and images from local movements.
What does solidarity mean to you?
Solidarity means that none of us are free until we’re all free, and that we have obligations to ourselves and each other to be in shared struggle together.