Mapping Intersectional Brutality
This work uses drawing as a process of mapping intersectional violence against black bodies, indigenous bodies, female bodies, LGBTQ+ bodies, poor bodies and all marginalized peoples harmed by the patriarchal and colonialist system of the United States of America. The video of George Floyd’s murder was the catalyst for this work. As more murders of BiPOC bodies occurred, I channeled the pain and rage of each one into the marks layered upon the paper. As I contemplated these tragedies, I saw the string of violence as it led back through our history over and over again. Police and social brutality has long been part of our history, unbroken, back to the earliest colonialization of this land. I realized that I was mapping not just the individual lost lives, but bearing witness to the atrocities throughout our history – each one stringing back to others. It is a map of truth concerning that which is so often whitewashed and never should be made justifiable.

I have come back to the drawings again and again to layer marks. The first drawing was made over a series of months in 2020 and 2021.

In February of 2021, I began another in response to the reading about the proliferation of pregnant women being tased in the belly and the killing of Amir Locke. It felt like my work was not finished when brutalities like this continue to occur. I am not sure how long the series will continue, but I know for now that it needs to.

This is a difficult work to produce and I can imagine a difficult work to view. I do not want to cause anyone pain, so I make sure to let people know that this is a difficult work to talk about. I also know that as an artist, I am compelled to work for truth and equality. This is a call for us to rise together to end brutality.