May I pass through your land? (A fence of her own) 2026
Oil on canvas, found object
Such an honor to paint
@lizfkennedy — a deeply brilliant and beautiful friend inside and out.
Liz is an abolitionist artist and organizer whose work builds life-affirming futures rooted in liberation, justice, and collective healing, in service of Black communities, queer and trans people, and those most impacted by state and environmental harm.
I’m so grateful to know you, to learn from you, and to witness the care and safety you center in all that you do.
My solo exhibition Táifinakpo‘ opens Thursday, April 9th at
@galleriapoggiali in Milan 💛
In this painting, the fishnet garment functions as both form and boundary. Across my practice, clothing often becomes a kind of negative space—allowing the sitter-collaborator to determine what is shared and what is held. Here, the fishnet evokes a fence: a structure of protection, refusal, and self-definition.
The net also draws from a CHamoru folktale about the shaping of Guam, in which women cut their hair to weave a net that saves the island from destruction. In this context, the net becomes an offering—one that connects women’s bodies to the body of the land, holding care, survival, and collective protection.
At the same time, the fence alludes to the militarized barriers that mark the island, tracing ongoing histories of occupation and extraction. Held together, these references reflect on protection as both intimate and political—an act of care, sovereignty, and resistance.
