![]() In my own experience growing up in the southwestern US, the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe was very familiar and seemingly ever-present. Totlazonantzin translates to "our beloved mother" in Nahuatl, and can be seen in the Nican Mopohua ("Here It Is Told"), the first recorded account of the appearance of Our Lady of Guadalupe, written in the mid-1500s and first published in 1649. If we love enough, we are going to light that fire in the hearts of others.” If we love each other enough, we will bear each other's faults and burdens. Love and ever more love is the only solution to every problem that comes up. ![]() "To work to increase our love for God and for our fellow man (and the two must go hand in hand), this is a lifetime job. ![]() And what is dangerous unselfishness if not self-sacrificing love? was assassinated he was helping striking sanitation workers, and in his last speeches he spoke of the dignity of labor and the importance of solidarity with other working people, of a kind of "dangerous unselfishness" described in the parable of the Good Samaritan. This is a trend that does not help build a world where it is easier for people to live or to love each other. Power and wealth continue to concentrate among a tiny few, while working people as a group steadily fall further into precarity. When we look at the world today and see that despite all the advancements much of our global family still suffers to some degree or another from poverty, exploitation, marginalization. Despite all our increasing digital connectedness we seem to be further separated and isolated in many ways. We are, nearly all of us, workers in some form or another, but that commonality gets overshadowed so often by cultural, racial, or various identity issues. Love, beauty, and work-all can be connected. I was raised with a sort of philosophy of work, where art making and creative labor can be a kind of prayer, where there can be beauty in striving to become better at whatever we do and in the giving of oneself in service to others. ![]() It follows a long tradition of Via Crucis/Path of Sorrows imagery in devotional western art, but I also saw it as a meditation on labor and mutuality. The image was inspired by a protestor I saw at an immigrant and worker rights march many years ago. These prints are adapted from an acrylic painting that I worked on over the last two years. There are three different color editions of this print: Printed on acid-free, 100% cotton, 330 gsm, Italian-made Revere paper. Hand-pulled screenprints made with Tony Clough at Serio Press in It is the density of all of the stories that have been experienced, and although, separate from you, it never really does goes away, as past has the habit of coming back up to haunt you, highlighted by the hands raising back up with the flow of the water, to the middle, to the present.Signed, titled, and numbered by the artist. The present is symbolised by the head and how it decants, highlighting the actions taken by people who suffer under such a relentless stream.Īnd then the past is at the base, where the water collects. The future is at the top, where the source of the water comes from, representing future encounters with this demon, how they are always on the horizon and coming towards you. The past, present and future, because ultimately a demon has the power to influence and affect all three. I wanted to also include 3 key parts to this image. …and so the way to deal with this demon, is to let it pass through you, to experience it, but to let it go as soon as possible so that you do not drown in its negativity, so this is why and how the head must constantly decant this demon in order to survive. I wanted to use water too because it has a very particular density to it, it fills up all those empty spaces, and has the ability to consume and drown someone, and so the head is like a hollow cup, because “your cup can only be filled so much, before it gets too heavy” ![]() I decided to depict it as an endless stream of water, because racism is like a tap that has never shut off, it’s a very present and a very real demon. This demon we encountered when we spoke, was the existence of sinophobia and racism. The description and explanation of my piece follows: It was a great project and it was carried further by Chris Dennis who made a signature cocktail inspired by our collaboration to also sell for charity. I was Partnered with Chef Elizabeth Haigh who shared her story, and I drew her demon to raise money for charity. This was for a project that ran during mental health awareness week, and aimed to connect people and share stories of their individual demons. ![]()
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