Reflections on loss. Personal, cultural, societal.
Daniela Liseth Bazaes
Ta'lopop
colored pencil on paper
18” x 24”
For this particular piece, I drew inspiration from the Malibu Creek State Park, which was once home to a native village with a dark history marked by tragedy and violence. My aim was to capture the essence of nature through the use of organic shapes, fluid lines, and an abstract color palette. By blurring the line between realism and imagination, my intention was to evoke a sense of resilience and serenity, even in the face of the constant motion and change of the natural world. At the same time, I hope this artwork serves as a reminder of the displacement and mistreatment of the Chumash population that took place as you visit the ancestral lands of beautiful California State Parks and trails.
Leora Samouha
Life, Liberty, and Women
colored pencil on paper
18” x 24”
This work is a combination of tradition and new revolution, Iran in all its glory, for women, life, and liberation. I recently fell in love with the miniature style prevalent in historical Iranian art and this work was an attempt of imitating the style in a slightly modern way to connect with modern issues in Iran. The Azadi Tower is a great example of how Iran intends to be so modern yet held back by what the leaders believe is tradition as it has consistently been at the forefront of riots for change in Iran and a space the Regime uses to show off its military power. I remember watching videos of the riots in Iran, women burning headscarfs, men shaving their hair, women wearing hijabs fighting in the street, the dancing, and the intense fear of knowing that if these people were caught, they would be tortured, killed, raped. This work, I suppose is a celebration of the Iranian people, the only regret I have with it is that I did not including images of hijabi women.
Nailah Babatunde-Bey
Migraine
graphite and colored pencil on paper
18” x 24”
I've experienced intense headaches since I was a child. These headaches are debilitating and my only solace is painkillers and ice packs. This drawing depicts my view of my bedroom whilst I experience one of these headaches. The wooziness I feel from the pain, my room moving out of focus and my hyper fixation on the all-important ice pack.
Rebecca Sculler
Pretty Ugly-Ugly Colors
colored pencil on paper
24” x 54”
This drawing had the prompt of "pretty ugly." This prompt flooded my brain as I thought about beauty standards, society/culture, photoshop, etc. I overwhelmed myself trying to tackle a big issue, so I went to my sketchbook and played with "ugly colors." This allowed me to try something new with colored pencils and break free from the pressure of making a big statement. This three-part collection became a process piece of expressive abstract forms.
Leora Samouha
Grab a Slice!
watercolor and colored pencil on paper
15” x 11”
I've been thinking about rape culture in America and how people tend to feel entitled to a women's body even in death. I recently learned that in Ancient Egypt, they would allow the women's body to decay before sending it to get mummified in hopes of mitigating the chances of the body being desecrated. You see this even in modern culture as well, where you see videos of boys talking about raping the body of a dead peer if he were left with it during a school shooting. I wonder what kind of world we live in if a woman cannot even find peace in death, that sex must follow her there?
Shamila Zahidi
untitled
colored pencil on paper
17” x 11”
This image is a reflection of the world during the COVID 19 pandemic. I chose a window because the streets would be empty during this time and the only way that you knew that people existed was through lights in the windows. So I used windows as an exploration of the idea of knowing that people are there without having a person in the image. This was a shared and isolated experience for many people during the pandemic.
Sasha Leslie
untitled, 05222022
charcoal on paper
24” x 18”
This body of work embodies the idea that, after we've gone through a traumatic moment, it takes time to heal. But even after the healing is done, we're left with a wound; even if that wound feels like a pit of nothing, it is filled with other forms of life that are waiting to be experienced by us. The actual image is a tree stump that I've seen on my morning walks for the last two years now, and the only time I had really stopped to look at it was for this picture. In turn, this also brings up this idea that we as humans tend to just avoid our deeper feelings instead of taking a moment to stop and think about them.
Nyah N Tibbs
Crown
colored pencil, sharpie on paper
11.75” x 21.75”
This work is a commentary on “The Crown Act.” This piece displays the unfortunate consequences of wearing natural black hair in the workplace.
Cesar Guandique
la vita
colored pencils, pencil
15” x 12”
Hospital visits.
Cameron Smith
Aaron Forever
graphite pencil on paper
20 ⅞” x 13 ⅛”
This image was drawn from a photo of my friend, Aaron, while he was on tour and performing with his band. He passed away a couple of years ago, and I hadn't really dealt with his death in the best way mentally. This drawing was a way for me to celebrate him, his life, and get a little bit of healing. (I contacted the photographer for permission to reproduce this photo.)
Caprice Martin Spaeny
Stella
oil on panel
8” x 18”
This diptych was created to depict something that is emotionally near to us, yet, far away. In June of 2021, my sweet bulldog Stella passed away in my arms while the sun set. This assignment called for us to paint something that was not only near and far physically but to take the prompt further and search for inspiration that we felt fit the theme of a missing thing in our lives that we were close to.
