Breathing In What’s Mine
A cacophony of colors, lines and glitter swirling in a woman’s head highlighting especially her hair. You can almost touch it.
N.B.: These descriptions were developed from a series of conversations between artist Jessica Skintges Wallach and comedian Lamont Price, The People’s heART’s docent. Sometimes they choose to write these descriptions in one voice and sometimes they choose to highlight their individual thoughts. These pieces are a conversation started and they both are very interested in what you see in them and what they make you think about. Please leave comments below.
Lamont’s thoughts: A woman with a gorgeous afro unapologetically breathing in life. Why should she apologize? She’s merely taking back a small portion of what belongs to her. Of what she contributes. The afro automatically makes me think of women of color, specifically Black women who constantly give of themselves while routinely receiving precious little in return. The healthcare system has a sordid history of underperforming and, at times, outright dismissing the humanity of Black women. This includes the ominous mortality rates when giving birth. Often viewed as being able to sustain a great deal of pain to disastrous results. Treated as caricatures. Women with disabilities who are sterilized without consent after giving birth. These are aspects of our healthcare community that must change. Givers of life need not ask for permission to breathe in what is rightfully theirs. Their breaths are our breaths. Their comfort is our comfort. Their life breeds all our lives.
And Jessica wonders what the disability rate is for black women given how high the mortality rates are. Often these rates go hand in hand.
Jessica Skintges Wallach, Breathing In What’s Mine, 2022. Digital Photograph. ©Jessica Wallach. All rights reserved.
