“IMPRESSIONIQUE I”
$2,900
2022
24” x 36”
Acrylic on Canvas
‘Impressionique I’ is a piece created as a diptych of paintings to be included in the artist’s upcoming solo art exhibit and as the artist’s official entry for the Stonewall Painters Contest by the Trans Tech Social Organization. The piece begins with an abstract expression through the circular motion in the center of the piece, the colors black and brown used represents the people of color that must be centered in this movement, and the blue, pink, and white paint pays homage to the trans and GNC folks who started the Stonewall uprising movement of 1969. This is enveloped by a flower headpiece, which portrays a direct impression of the headpiece created by the trans artist Tourmaline, inspired by the flower crown that Marsha P. Johnson was often seen wearing. The artist is exploring what the Stonewall movement means to her through this piece of abstract expression of the 1969 riots at New York City's Stonewall Inn which marked a turning point in the fight for LGBTQIA+ rights.
In the upper left hand corner of the painting is an impressionistic illustration of trans activist Aaron Philip, from a portrait created in the artist’s studio, also wearing the same flower headpiece created by artist Tourmaline. As one of the artist’s muse, the portrayal of Aaron in this piece is to remind us of the need to center the most marginalized identities in our society as a part of the collective work that the Stonewall uprising of 1969 started. Aaron is painted caged in by a classic golden frame, a symbol highly visible in the artist’s body of work as this represents wealth and luxury — only the most valuable artworks were framed starting in the Ancient Byzantium time of the twelfth century. In Impressionique I, the gold frame surrounding Aaron is to remind the viewer of the need for redistribution of wealth to the most marginalized communities. The frame painted with red and gold flakes represent the blood in the hands of the people hoarding and keeping the resources away from the most marginalized in our society. This also represents the illusion of fame, and how in modern day society it is attributed to success but the painting is to remind us that it is really just a false illusion, which makes it even more important to redistribute our wealth and remind ourselves of the humanity that lies behind our phone screens.
On the lower right is a titular figure, an impressionistic portrait of Marsha P. Johnson holding the brick that started the Stonewall riots in 1969. Right beneath her are two abstract forms representing the fight with the people against the liberation of queer people and the fight between the people inside the community.