Armed

The artistic journey often unfolds in the ways we least expect, revealing itself as we traverse its path. The conceptualization of this piece came nearly two years before I was able to finally create this drawing. The idea, desire and emotion were there, simmering. Understanding how to translate them into something tangible eluded me. This emotion, gesture and this specific symbolism were originally intended for my drawing Cream, but Cream became its own journey, and as it did it fulfilled a different part of my larger narrative, but I still wasn’t ready for the journey to create: Armed. 

 

Along this journey, Armed underwent its own evolution, bearing different names including, Overturned—on June 25th, 2022, as Roe v. Wade was overturned—and Where were you when I needed you, before eventually embracing its final moniker: Armed. A name which now that I see it, I realize it has always been. 

 

I was introduced to this goat skull in March of 2021. The moment I saw it I felt connected to it because within it I saw what resembled a uterus, but a uterus with horns, with natural protection, strength that was built-in. I started to think, “What if I’d had this kind of protection in my life?” Which ws followed by, “Where were you when I needed you? Are you with me now?”

 

These questions are not mine alone—I recognize that countless women, like myself, have yearned for this kind of protection. To the millions who silently whisper or vehemently declare “Me Too,” know that you are not alone, we are not alone, and I am sorry. This creation is a tribute to you and to myself, a testament of shared experiences and a desire for strength we deserved to be born with.