Alexandria Smith
This most recent body of work was completed while sheltering in place in London, UK only six months after my move to this country. It is certainly a body of work that has elicited more questions than answers but it is my hope that a clarity of vision will emerge from these pieces over time. I have been thinking a great deal about what it means to live in this body and to simultaneously exist outside of it. How can I maintain my sanity and fortitude in the midst of two pandemics: Covid and racial injustices? Can my work still remain necessary and relevant even if it exists in an abstract relationship to current events? Although I do not know the answers to these questions, I do feel even more connected and invested in my work as an artist and educator as a result of all that has happened in the past few months. I’ve come to the realization that I may not live to witness the impact of my/our work on our society but that it is still most certainly worth fighting for.