I'VE BEEN SITTING IN THIS SEAT FAR TOO LONG

How many times have I been in front of racism before seeing it? How many times have I stayed in silence only to make other people feel comfortable? How many times have I been on the verge of speaking up but haven't? As a POC I am ashamed, guilty and angry at what the response could be to these questions. I've been sitting in this seat far too long without looking at my own reflection to do something, say something. As we speak the world around us in unraveling in necessary ways, there is no reason it should go back to the way it was. I am carrying the weight of these thoughts and only know that I can do better. I believe artists are truth tellers and those investigations that deeply inform our work cannot be reserved for mere convenient truths. These are the steps forward, this is the discomfort that I know I need to face as just one person.

image detail: Interruption, 2007, ballpoint pen ink, wax, enamel on unstretched canvas