Piedad : Best of Show Winner

Mixed Media : Linoleum Cut

I never really knew where I fell in the art spectrum. As the years go by, I find how much I enjoy print making and its connection to street art and pop culture. My recent artwork is largely inspired by Pop Art and society.

For this work, I was inspired by Michelangelo’s Pieta sculpture and the feelings it instills in me. The sadness in Mary’s expression after losing her son. These health care workers have become the angels (or Mary) in the lives of those directly affected by this disease.

Covid 19 put many in the health industry in a tough spot. On one hand, it seemed as if the previous government and some media outlets, politized Covid 19 and pinned citizens against each other. Some said it was a hoax, taking little to no precautions. While many others followed the science and understood the severity of this pandemic. Like many front-line workers, the health industry was caught in a middle of a war. A war between a virus and against ourselves. Here, the nurse looks at us with despair as she holds a dead patient in her arms, as if asking for compassion. She must help the very same patients who attack her for believing in this disease. Little do they know this healthcare workers will eventually save their lives.