SOLO EXHIBITION : IPINYA - ISOLATION

During the lockdown and quarantine as i sat in my studio listerning to result of Covid 19 infected , sick , admitted into the hospital. i feel these moments that am not sure what could happen in next moments so i statrted using all the datas, results that was make available every minutes, hours, day by days and months and become a year to creates Kind of map to mark this uncertain time we are living around the world. I stop working on this project May 1st 2021 when i received my second dose of covid vaccination. and then when i thought all is done, Some time in December 2021 DELTA & OMICRON sufface .

Works in this exhibition are 198 pieces, 16 x 12 inches each. wall hanging . The works are created for 486 Days = 69 Weeks = 16 Months Projects During Isolation & Quarantine in 2020 /2021.

The last sculpture was created late last year to early this 2022 which look into the undieing fire of DELTA & OMICRON .

VENUE: IVESTER CONTEMPORARY GALLERY

ADDRESS: 916 Springdale Rd BLDG 2 #107, Austin, TX 78702,

RECEPTION: June 4th,

TIME:7PM. DATE: June 4th -- July 9th 2022. TITLE OF THE EXHIBITION : IPINYA - ISOLATION

STATEMENT:

It is a new day. As the sun rises and the rooster sings from top of its lungs, I know it is morning. I have not slept. I worked through the night in my studio, listening to world news on NPR. At first, I did not take note or hear the importance. When things are not at your doorstep, you do not take concrete actions. Then sun is out full now, and NPR continues to repeat the same story from time to time about the spreading of a virus coming from China. Now it has been discovered in Europe, but still the USA does not take it seriously. Government officials refuse to listen to the warnings of health professionals on how quickly action needs to be taken. Our world is turned upside down. This invisible war where we cannot see the weapon is here, under our noses, beyond what we can imagine. We have no idea how to prevent it, no cure. Every health official is giving chase, trying to solve the puzzle, while hundreds are dying every second. We have no choice but to close the world's doors, ide behind masks, create new rules of staying home, social distancing, singing "happy birthday" every time we wash our hands. It is difficult for children to understand why suddenly the rules have changed. No more school. No more going to play in the park or with their friends. The worst of it all is that, before the pandemic, people were already living hand to mouth, surviving by the grace of the credit card, and now the economy is crumbling. No one is going to work, but we all must eat. You are not allowed to go out and the grocery and shopping centers are closed. The numbers of sick people are increasing daily, and the hospitals are short on beds. Now the family cannot even console their loved ones. The dead are buried or disposed of without a proper traditional sendoff. It is a new world.

For years as an activist, a crusader of equality, I have been calling for us to respect one another, love others as we love ourselves. We may not be happy about how 2020 went down, everything that we all went through and what went through us. The whole world was brought to stillness in a matter of seconds. Our intelligence, wisdom, and knowledge were put to the test. It did not matter if you were the president, or homeless, a religious leader, a member of a particular political party or royal family. No one got a free pass. I spent the time listening to news from around the world, reflecting on myself, my present, my past, putting my affairs in order and writing my biography. Who knows, I may not live to see tomorrow. We have prepared for many years innovating weapons to fight any war that may come to us. But those are wars that we can see, and we can win. How can we prepare for an invisible war? We all have one choice - use the mask, stay home, social distance. And it's scary. Who is to be blame? Who should we point our fingers at? 2020 will also go down as the year that opened our eyes more to police brutality. The year that inspired protests across the world calling for a redefinition of what POLICE should be, how they should operate and relate to the community. 2020 will not go down without lot of unanswered questions..