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Art Spotlight: I See Us Flourishing

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BACK TO THE JOURNAL
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Art Spotlight: I See Us Flourishing

Visualizing Abundant Futures. This series of collages incorporates original photographs of our communities at Soul Fire Farm and WILDSEED Community Farm & Healing Village, including people, plants, and animals. I layered these images with fantastical elements and juxtapositions to project us into the desirable futures we are actively striving to create. My intention is to vividly picture ourselves in a future characterized by abundance, justice, reciprocity with the land, rest, safety, dignity, and joy, by illuminating the already present glimmers of these realities alive among us.

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An image of a photographic collage a Black girl with a curly puff, happily runs through a field of grain as the sets and paints the sky. An enlarged cut out of a dandelion is layered behind her. Cut outs of three little girls are spread across the collage. A cut out of a hummingbird flies across the image, placed beside an enlarged brown bird feather at the edge of the collage.
AIR

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An image of a photographic collage a Black woman with long thick black locs, crown lifted eyes closed in pure bliss, surrounded by cutouts of tall sprouted greenery and purple mushrooms.
EARTH

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An image of adults lying on the green grass joyfully lifting their legs and arms up in glee, under the rainbow parachute, surrounded by sparkles of light.
JOY

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An image of a photographic collage a Black woman with long black locs, wearing a white twisted tube top, floating in the depths of the sea surrounded by schools of fish, a cut out of a sea turtle and bright red crystal reefs.
WATER

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An image of a photographic collage of an open field of wild daisies. Behind lies a colorful gradient sunset along the mountains. Layered on top is a little Black girl sleeping peacefully in a maroon colored hanging hammock. Beside her is a cut out of a Black woman with blonde locs sleeping calmly placed above the wild daisies.
CALM

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An image of a photographic collage of cutout images of Black people tending to the Earth
TEND

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An image of a photographic collage of cutout images of Black people happily holding and showing off their harvested produce surrounded by the beautiful blue sky and vibrant trees as the collage background.
HARVEST

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An image of a mixed media collage, a brown and black striped spiral pattern cutout as a background, leave like structures composed of musical notes sprouting from the bottom. Cut out shapes of leaves in variety, brown, blues and red colors sprout around 2 floating brown hands, swaying in wave motion. Placed behind the hand lies a moon shaped design.
LOVE LIVES HERE

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An image of a mixed media collage, a blue clouded sky sets as the background, as a brown circular woven basket is layered over it, followed by a yellow sunflower intersecting with the basket. A black and white cut out photograph of Audre Lorde is placed at the left corner over the basket. A yellow straw-like spiral surrounds at the center, and placed right underneath it is a cut out vintage photograph of a Black Woman with an afro, angled sideways, looking up.
WOVEN & WATCHING

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