"My fairy king can see" - a portrait of Freddy Mercury
Stephen
About watching the waves and holding on
"Pay it no mind" - a portrait of Marsha P Johnson
"For My Community" – A portrait of Sylvia Rivera
"We didn't take no shit from nobody. We had nothing to lose. You all had rights. We had nothing to lose. I'll be the first one to step on any organization, any politician's toe if I have to, to get the rights for my community." - Sylvia Rivera
The portrait of Sylvia Rivera is painted digitally in Photoshop, and a background collage with elements referencing her life as well as the above quote. The reference for the portrait is a series captured by Valerie Shaff in '96 just before the destruction of her home for the build of the Hudson River Waterfront project. Rivera described the event as follows: “It’s called a sweep. Not even a fucking eviction. A sweep, like we’re trash.”
"Someone has felt your loneliness before" – Mixed media work portaying Alok Vaid-Menon & Laverne Cox
Laverne Cox: "What helps you get through?"
Alok: "History. Reading for me was a lifeline because I found people who felt the same thing before me. [...]
Someone in the world has felt your loneliness before. Find your ancestors, become their living memorial.."
This work is inspired by the conversation Laverne Cox @lavernecox had with Alok Vaid-Menon @alokvmenon on the Laverne Cox Show, a beautiful, insightful and inspiring dialog, that I keep going back to and relisten, cause there's so much important stuff being said ❤️ for example about loneliness, the importance of history and compassion with self and.. Listen to it ;) 🌊🌈