Justice is Served: Celebrating the People Who Work For a Change

Description: Seven recycled tin trays depicting four heroic citizens of Seattle and the region.

Artist Statement: In Justice Is Served: Celebrating the People Who Work for Change, I wanted to address the subject of community service in the name of justice.  Each artwork portrays a Seattle citizen whose heroic example has made a positive and lasting impact on the community.  I chose to commemorate these individuals (Roberta Byrd Barr, Hazel Wolfe, Velma Veloria and Bernie Whitebear) because I was moved and inspired by their stories: they brought light to previously obscure corners of the human drama, working to raise consciousness and awareness inside and outside their respective communities.  Using a combination of paint and collage, I have worked to integrate pictures and text into compositions that serve my dual purpose of storytelling and embellishment. The recycled tin trays--which were once used for another kind of service--remind me of a bygone era, when a woman or man might have led a life narrowly defined by domestic service, bondage, or slavery.  As it happens, many people around the globe continue to experience subjugation and domination.  As an artist, I can’t make pretty pictures without thinking about that.