WORK

MURAL

In collaboration with the High Desert Equality and Justice Mural Festival, "Myth of Progress" piece continues the dialogue regarding the Eurocentric value of "progress" that I began to explore with the mural, “Born Again Babaylan.”

In this piece I wanted to move away from the problematic linear paradigm of “progress” and lean more into the values of my ancestors: cyclicality, reflection, preservation, restoration, healing, surviving, thriving, re-membering, revealing etc. Especially when it comes to justice—which is concerned with acknowledging and reconciling atrocities of the present and past and removing the systems in place to literally preserve the lives of Black and Brown people. Justice, liberation, equality, equity etc. are not nice "values" we all need to create a utopian future, they are a means to an end for BIPOC. They are necessary for our survival and our thriving. What was on my mind the most with this piece, is that justice begins with healing. Re-membering the histories of our families (the good and the bad), especially how patriarchy, white supremacy and capitalism have manifested throughout history and have deeply wounded us and mother earth. We have to reconcile these on a deeper more multi-faceted level—with our families, our ancestors, our communities, our bodies, minds, spirits, and the land.

Action is a given, how do we further embody justice and transform?

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The vertical stacking of submerged womxn in ice and water, challenges the viewer to tilt their head and literally change their physical perception. Often the assumptions of what is good or beneficial to Black Indigenous and People of Color, such as assumptions as to what is just, equal and helpful to these communities is based on the view of the colonizer, even down to the very perception of time and history. We have to challenge these assumptions in society as a whole through listening to communities of color, re-membering his{her}story, and learning from the wisdom therein.