I’ve heard that silence is violence a few times these past weeks. There is something inside me that wants to protest before I even think about what it really means or if it is true. Thankfully for me (it is really hard to express opinions nowadays without having to fight with someone) I’m not here to explain if I believe if that phrase is true or not. You’ll have to do that for yourself. What I’m here for is to ask you to stop and ponder why you react in support or in fierce opposition when you hear sentences like that. Eric recently wrote about how we just don’t have any time for nuance anymore. Everything is either this or that but nothing in between. I can either be for #blacklivesmatter or #alllivesmatter, but those two are seemingly polar opposites. Apparently, a single hashtag entirety describes how I feel and think about the whole situation, and it may even perfectly describe my political affiliation. Ok, I’m exaggerating. But only a little.
I worked on this triptych last week. I was thinking, what would it be like if I could put myself not only in someone else’s shoes but in someone else’s skin? Someone with black skin to be precise. How I wish I could take off this skin of mine, even if just for a brief moment, so that I could wear the skin of a black fellow human, a fellow brother or sister. I’ve been spit in the face once, not that long ago. I don’t know the reasons why, but I suspect that it had to do with my being a woman and/or being a foreigner. The discrimination was painful and degrading, but nothing compared to being killed.
I deeply encourage you to reflect during this time and not ignore the events in the world around you, hoping they’ll go away.
Find this and other art at @the.untamed.portraits