Artist Statement:

When I originally created this piece as the final product of a Drawing Concepts course which I completed this past winter, I had no intention of explaining its purpose to my fellow students, nor to the viewers of the small art show in which it was presented later that week. I did not want to make excuses for it or clarify it, because it was not done for anyone else but me. That logic still holds true today. I feel that by surrendering, by betraying its essence, I would be betraying something crucial to myself.
What I WILL disclose, however, is the same passage which accompanied it in its original presentation. The following excerpt was taken from an article by Wangari Maathai entitled, "The Cracked Mirror":

"People without culture feel insecure and are obsessed with the acquisition of material things, which give them a temporary security that itself a delusional bulwark against future insecurity. Without culture, a community loses self-awareness and guidance, and grows weak and vulnerable. It disintegrates from within as it suffers a lack of identity, dignity, self-respect and a sense of destiny.

By the end of the civic and environmental studies organised by the Green Belt Movement, participants feel the time has come for them to hold up their own mirror and find out who they are. This is why we call the seminars kwimenya (self-knowledge). Until then, participants have looked through someone else's mirror--the mirror of the missionaries or their teachers or the colonial authorities who have told them who they are and who write and speak about them--at their own cracked reflections. They have seen only a distorted image, if they have seen themselves at all!

Cultural liberation will only come when the minds of the people are set free and they can protect themselves from colonialism of the mind. Only that type of freedom will allow them to reclaim their identity, self-respect and destiny. Only when communities recapture the positive aspects of their culture will people relearn how to love themselves and what is theirs. Only then will they really appreciate their country and the need to protect its natural beauty and wealth. And only then will they have an understanding of the future and of generations to come."

Exhibitions/Awards:

Exhibited in "Pardon Our Clutter!" March 7, 2009 to accompany the opening of the MK Gallery at Portland State University.