Spray Paint

Grounded, 2020

Recipient of Art for Uncertain Times - Next Generation 2020 Award

An invention is groundbreaking. It reconstructs entire civilizations, influences developing culture, and molds the fabrication of industry- for better or for worse. 
An earthquake is groundbreaking. It can force the restructuring of entire civilizations, and it doesn’t take an anthropologist to observe the seismic impacts upon affected societies, transformed cultures, and even modified industries. 
Both are groundbreaking because they’re unexpected.

Oftentimes, these things just happen- a flip of the switch or a strike of lightning. But what really matters, what spreads like the cracks on the ground, what continues to branch out even after impact, is our response. 
Think about it. 
It’s how we respond that writes the history books. It’s how we respond to the situation- whether we aid the deep cracks by pulling apart a small hairline fracture or pull ourselves together by lessening the gap- that shows who we truly are. And it leads to whom we will soon become. 

The response to the obvious turmoil and chaos that we have experienced this past couple of months can be confusing, overwhelming, and just a lot to take in. For youth, it’s almost like we live in a constant schizophrenic existence: being told to keep calm, yet let our voices be heard; being told to stop worrying, when it’s our civic duty to be concerned; being told to trust, when video footage and thousands of media reports say otherwise; being told to stop, when our momentum has only just started; being told to listen, when we just want the world to understand.
To me, this piece symbolizes that relationship: being told that we’re grounded at home, but I think that’s where we should feel most grounded- it’s our firm foundation. The double-meaning of the word shows that we shouldn’t just see this time period through one lens, from only one viewpoint. 
We live in a time that is truly groundbreaking. But we must remember; it’s our response that will mold and shape how we look back and view this time. What we live in right now- it’s an opportunity. Opportunity to change and help bring about change for the better.
Right now is not the time to continue your stagnant, quarantine hibernation, but to better yourself and find ways to safely contribute to our future.
We can be seen as a divided nation, politically charged and far too prideful to find enough humility to come together, or we can be the chapter in which we unify our ideas, protests, individual contributions, publications, and legislation to find and pursue that bright hope for the future by being grounded together. The choice, well, is up to you.

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