Why I made this…
I am not going to write this and feign ignorance of what inspired it, because I was like many people who found themselves grasping for a tangible act in the face of something horrific; and I don’t think its political to say this. So I took some of my art and made a TikTok cautioning people against violence, because that is how the rebuke is justified and the revenge that comes after locking us into the death spiral; and I don’t think its political to say that either. But at this posts center was an artwork I did as an exploration of a world I am working on, featuring a dystopia mired by the rot of a decaying society prodigious for all the human blood on its grounds. This is not a new idea, but as a lover of dystopia it is important know fear leads to their creation - a fear of a possibility. Fear has dominated this nation for almost the entirety of my life and it has seeped deeply into my narrative projects and I don’t necessarily like this. But the great power of art is to show the alternative, to celebrate the day of triumph over adversity, to remember the great acts of past peoples that brought their better future because it reminds us that we can do it too.
That’s what I pondered on while I made this TikTok, because to me that better day will come if violence is not met with itself, for the heroic end is not met there but in its absolution. I want us to move forward together rather than apart, because that is how long lasting peace and liberty is founded and to see these times as a foundation of the rebirth of our national consciousness. To find our love for each other again and so I can continue to call myself a fantasy artist.
I wish you safety and joy.
The original art work
