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When I walked into George Washington Carver Junior High School in South Central Los Angeles, I made my way to an eighth grade classroom for art students. I had come to photograph their faces on film. I wanted to show their real faces with simple dignity. By layering details from antiquity, architecture and nature, I hoped to show how each of us holds the great potential spirit of love and compassion.1.Becoming, photographic construction, 24” x 30”, 1997754,960
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Body Mandala,
Body Mandala is a meditation on what it means to own a human body. The represented bodies of one hundred women, men and children to form a mandala, or sign of cosmic wholeness. The metaphoric body is a vessel containing spirit, energy and all states of consciousness, as well as a symbol of strength or frailty. Moreover, the body is a manifestation of gender, social norm, cultural taboo and relationship.2. Body Mondala, Photographs on canvas installation, 11’ x 16’,1994720,960 -
My response to Hurricane Katrina and the aftermath was to gather fallen eucalyptus branches, tie them together into a vessel with bad news stuffed inside, and to burn it. I activated friends to help me move the 400 pound sculpture to the beach to perform the burning ceremony. Later, the documentation was installed at the Arts Fund where I had received an Individual artist award.3. Burning Love, 56” x 42”, Sculpture performance/Installation/Exhibition, 20051280,960
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When I saw Neil Marcus perform his play, Storm Reading, at Access Theatre, I knew I wanted to make a portrait of him by using a photographic technique with multiple long exposures that would show him as an amazing and dynamic performer. It was later used on the cover of the book Commotion: Disability and Performance.4. Neil Marcus, 6” x 9", Book Cover/Bodies in Commotion, 2005720,960
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While working at a home for people living with AIDS, I met a doctor who wanted to be photographed while his body was still strong. His powerful physique layered with plants from our compost became for me the perfect emanation of strength and human fragility. This was part of a series titled "Other Realms".5. Leafman, 11” x 11”, Platinum Print, 2007835,960
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After my mother died, I spent a year making images that helped me come to terms with who she was and how I was like her in so many ways. This was one of the first images I made as a way of saying “I am unafraid to leap into the abyss of my unconscious to uncover the story of our relationship".6. Leap, 18” x 24”, Solar Plate Etching, 2012709,960
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As a participant in the Essential Worker Project, I was assigned the task of documenting restaurant workers. When I met Elena, I wanted to show her sweet kindness as well as her skilled efficiency in bringing food to customers.7. Elena with four hands, 9” x 18”, photographic construction, 20081210,633
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November 13, 2018 was an astonishing moment when the Santa Barbara School Board unanimously voted to make Ethnic Studies a mandatory graduation requirement. I had been a part of the community of students and families that had spent years fighting for the right to learn our own decolonized histories. Published in Kalfou, Journal of Comparative Relational Ethnic Studies.8. Ethnic Studies Now! Wins, 5” x 8”, photograph, 20181440,900
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While experimenting with the century-old photo technique of cyanotypes, I continued to enhance my ability to build large-scale images on fabric. I fell in love with a local dragon tree and the interwoven structure of its branches which tapped into my ongoing obsession with trees and their healing powers.9. Dragon Tree, 10’ x10’, Cyanotypes on sewn linen, 20171440,874
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When my latest images of oak branch fractals arose in my practice, I studied them and wanted to know what they were telling me. While contemplating these amazing configurations, I realized they are the perfect metaphor for my work in developing art infrastructure that would help to dismantle the segregation of the white arts community in Santa Barbara. By investigating the histories and wisdom of culture bearers in our communities of color, I am in the process of preparing a multimedia installation of these images with portraits and audio recordings of words from our community elders. The exhibition is planned for fall of 2023 at the Santa Barbara Museum of contemporary Art.10. Roots and Branches, 13” x 19”, Photographic construction, 20231440,955
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