Queer youth represent an estimated 7% of the total youth population, but 40% of all young people experiencing homelessness. 1 in 4 teens are thrown out of their homes upon coming out to their parents.
This piece examines the intersection of homelessness as indicative of a failed system and intentional homelessness. The snail on the water resistant upper layer symbolizes underground migratory societies that carry their homes on their backs. Made from found materials in an effort to, as José Esteban Muñoz would say, create a "concrete utopia."
https://truecolorsfund.org/
The political contention surrounding immigration lately has exposed yet another lingering flaw in American thinking: the fear of the unknown. The mainstream media's depiction of immigrants as "alien" contributes to the broader xenophobia that has been growing in recent years, and is worthy of critical analysis. After Trump's imposed travel ban, members of our own campus were stranded across an invisible line, unable to continue their pursuits benevolent and valuable to the whole CSU community. I wanted to paint something addressing the establishment's uneducated and inhumane treatment of immigrants, and in doing so, start conversation around their representation in everyday life.
“I do not believe, from what I have been told about this people, that there is anything barbarous or savage about them, except that we all call barbarous anything that is contrary to our own habits.” ― Michel de Montaigne
In response to a fascist presidential administration; Trump's ideal America is a fascist form of 1700's colonialism and this artist finds that disturbing. I recognize that the swastika is a sensitive symbol, and I mean to use it to criticize the unspeakable arrogance of the Trump presidency.
