“Holding All of Us”, 2024, acrylic paint on canvas, interactive piece, free handprinted screenprint takeaways Displayed at A Soft Place to Land group show curated by Carolina Quintanilla, SOMArts, San Francisco, CA
Statement for piece:
Lately, I have struggled a lot with joy and the narrative around it. I have struggled with people only wanting to accept the easy good parts and throwing away the parts that are harder to parse through. When thinking of conflict, I often see people (including myself at times) only leaning into what feels good for them. And while I honor and respect that, I also believe there is a deeper understanding of joy that is being asked of us to uncover. Especially if we hope to work together to create a better world. This joy asks us to face conflict, to be honest with our emotions, and to work together through the tension sometimes. It doesn’t mean going back on your boundaries or being an easy version of yourself, but to me it means learning how to face the difficult emotions and understand their role in your life. Once we understand how these emotions may show up for us, I believe we will have more clarity on how to treat each other and co-create new systems that foster environments that allow for more people to access their joy. I have learned that I cannot make room for my joy if I feel there is not room for my anger, sadness, fear, etc. I feel joy deeper when I have a relationship to these other emotions that are sometimes harder to face. That’s what this piece is about for me. It is about learning how to work with all of me, so that I may let my joy feel comfortable to be seen and experienced as well.