Existing comment:
Whistlegiver/Whistleblower
Spray paint on wood panel, 2 panels, each
30 x 54 in.
Courtesy of the artist
ARTIST STATEMENT
I invite the viewer to consider what they would do when offered the choice to make a tremendous sacrifice to benefit humanity at large. Would it be enough to be remembered, and honored?
Whistlegiver/Whistleblower is a tribute to the Wuhan doctors Ai Fen (left) and Li Wenliang (right). These doctors risked professional sanction and their own lives as part of the first response to the COVID-19 pandemic, trying to raise the alarm to the global threat. Both faced severe professional consequences, with Dr. Li losing his life.
My process of stencil painting becomes an extended meditation on my subject matter. Long hours of studying facial features and tracing these fine details with pens, followed by intricate knife work, create a sense of responsibility to build a faithful representation. The raw and accessible nature of spray paint and stencil is intended to evoke the rapid and improvisational nature of the early response to COVID-19, composed by colors alluding to the balance between rage and action. |