In the summer of 2020, in the wake of the racist and vicious police murder of George Floyd, I was approached by a good friend who invited me to contribute to an art installation she was coordinating. The prompt was to create pieces envisioning “the future of policing”, to be displayed in front of Denver’s capitol building.
The installation was meant to push contributors and viewers alike to consider a world in which police - their bigotry, their brutality - have altogether ceased to be. I created a small painting for the installation. Three years later, as police continue to enforce the interests of white supremacy, fascism, and capitalism by murderous means, I decided to revisit my concept on a larger scale.
This 2’ round canvas depicts a small fawn resting peacefully, sheltered by the bleached ribcage of a pig skeleton. Does only leave their fawns where they will be safe, and this child is; the pig is long dead. The nutrients composing its body have leached back into the ground, to be reappropriated by the earth, to create something new. Lush grass, calendula, aster, and starry night mushrooms devour the bones, overgrowing them until they are lost to us forever.
If all of the resources and time and energy and blood poured into policing could be funneled into providing shelter, safety, and sustenance for our communities and their most vulnerable members - if the backbone of bigotry supporting our society could finally be broken, the hate alchemized - what beauty could we grow together?
$20 from each print sale will be contributed to the Atlanta Solidarity Fund. The fund provides bail and legal aid to activists participating in the ongoing efforts in Atlanta to prevent the construction of Cop City, a massive police compound slated for construction in the Weelaunee Forest. This facility, if constructed, will chew up nearly 400 acres of forest to provide police with the military training to undertake urban warfare and brutality on a large scale. Cop City must not be built. [POST-ELECTION PRICING: through the end of 2024, this purchase will send an extra $10 to the Atlanta Solidarity Fund.]
This piece was made in gouache on a primed 2’ round canvas with sloped edges. It was scanned, retouched, and then reprinted on environmentally friendly Hahnemühle bamboo paper. Prints are available for purchase as either 15” squares or 14” circles.
This original is available. Please email me directly with inquiries.
