Mark

Artist statement

As an interdisciplinary incarcerated artist I work in multiple artistic forms. I write lyrics and poetry, I tinkle the Ivory's (piano), and I paint. Painting has provided an opportunity to be more aware of self. Spending time quietly with my thoughts, facing past hurts and failures has been very therapeutic. Painting is my way also to resist the lack of personal choice and freedom I'm experiencing. Working in acrylic with bold color, expressing emotions abstractly, projecting desires, capturing them on canvas and ultimately sharing my creations with society voids the brick walls, iron bars, and barbed wire fences allowing me to live past the limits faced day to day. Through my artwork I have input in the culture despite spending my entire adulthood in prison. Art has given me a voice, and a stance in the free world.