Gillian Thomas, Portrait, 2020, Watercolor and sharpie on paper
Gillian Thomas, More, 2020, Permanent marker, ink and sharpie on paper
Gillian Thomas, Self Portrait, 2020, Acrylic on canvas
Gillian Thomas
Artist Statement
Portrait - This painting is more of a collective portrait than one of any individual. I wanted to try to reflect the shared emotions many of us are feeling in the world right now along with what I hope everyone is feeling in this time in order to create better times ahead of this.
More - In this piece, I hope to address the denial and the hyper policing nature of whiteness in America that has pursued every black movement with its ugliness. I chose bright, multi-colored lettering to draw attention to the fact that LGBTQ+ black Americans are at an even greater risk for violence. The names drawn in pen were taken from pages of my journal, where I compiled all the names I could find in articles about the victims of police brutality over the past twenty years. The names drawn in are not nearly a complete representation of all the victims, indicated with an ellipse at the bottom of the page.
Self Portrait - I used an abstract type of self portrait to explore, define, and reflect on the feelings I have had during this time—fear, worry, anger, sadness, melancholy, loneliness, gated happiness. The style was partially inspired by the portraits that Amiya Kahn-Tietz has created for artist Still Woozy’s album covers.