I made this image in the fall of 2017, while at an artist residency just after the election. I was there to do other work with a group of artist-activist collaborators…but with Trump’s inauguration looming it was hard to focus. It felt like the left (unshockingly) was exploding with debate and blame about how this happened, and I spent days cruising the internet with a pit in my stomach, reading thought pieces about how he won, what it means, what to expect. I started taking notes on all the different perspectives I was observing and turned that in to this grid of contradictions.
I consider this image a first draft, and hope to find excuse to revise from within the reality of Trumpism—which both is and isn’t how I expected it would be. (((do you know the campaign or movement context in which an image like this would be a useful strategic tool? be in touch.))
Credit and gratitude to the Rauschenberg Foundation's artist-as-activist fellowship for the time and space to make this image.
