In Response To Angola State Prison. Lowe Mills Gallery. 2021. The first series of work immediately after experiencing being part of a cast of a reality tv show. Top Chef…first to go home. Awesome yo!!! Nawh, it was good cause I was left with pure thoughts. Waking up every morning at 3am sweating full of paranoia. Fear of what’s next was shared with everyone on the show. I’d wake up and draw for hours until they let me go outside to smoke a cigarette. Portland was not only on fire at the time of taping, but it was also the month of the cops who killed Breonna Taylor court hearing as well as election time and the riots of Portland, OR were still heavy. Watching fires, cops dressed in the combat gear…it was wild yo. Anyhow, I kinda knew when I got home it would be time to lean into the visual art a bit stronger. I started research immediately into the penal system. Little did I know this would take me on a two year journey of barely touching on the notion of being released from prison. I focused on the narratives, the heritage and the placement of these places. Beginning Angola based on its settlement from crops cultivated and maintained to the creepy stories of how it was ran. Anyhow, so yeah…this is the show that started it and I still research it. Symbolism plays a big role in communication for those seeking a “ safe place “ in and out prison.