A few years ago I made the decision to leave a very oppressive religion that forbid me to involve myself in the politics of our time.  I had never voted, I had never paid much attention to the political system in place, I never considered the privileges I benefited from, the inequality all around me, and I had definitely never protested. 
 
Since meeting my partner Yvonne, I’ve made it a priority to listen and learn, she’s an inspiration, and the print starts with an image of her from a demo after the 2016 presidential election.  I used that photo as the basis for the print, and developed it further by considering everything going on around us in 2020 - the face covering as a protection from a disease that our government has failed to address properly, the face covering as a protection from fires as our government fails to understand the existential threat facing our environment, the face covering as a protection during demonstrations, as our government aims to criminalize those who dissent in any disruptive way.
 
I wanted to do a reductive woodcut print that illustrated the flames rising around a person that hopes for a better future and protests the problems we face now, as we must all do, in whatever way we are able to. 
 
We respect a diversity of tactics in this house. 
 
Artist: Anthony Rasonsky