In these times, it has become increasingly impossible to deny the grief that we are holding and I cannot create this proposal at this time without acknowledging Palestine. When attending actions against the genocide happening in Palestine, I saw people who didn’t fully know what to do with their anger and grief, and I saw everyone coming together to find connection through this. In our collective rage, we find each other and we work toward a different reality. I have seen many of my friends and community become numb because they simply cannot bear to hold any more pain. I fear this numbness and I fear the place of passivity we reach when we have become oversaturated with tragedy. I don’t think we can hold or process everything all the time. But I do believe we need spaces and moments in our day that remind us we are allowed to feel the sadness, the anger, the fear and we are not alone in it. It’s been so important to me to learn how to create easy moments for people to remember a loved one who has passed and to honor the people they come from. This is where my art is now, and this is the basis for my proposal for YBCA’s Wavy Wall.

Because this has been so present in my mind and heart, I created a mural that will act as an altar where people in the community are invited to share about their loved ones who have passed, their relationship to their grief, and more.

The idea is simple, but I hope that it provides a pause in the public’s day to remember that we are more than what we have to do in a day, more than our jobs, more than our tasks. I also hope it reminds us of our connection and responsibility to each other. The visuals of the mural are a dedication to Palestine. The doves represent peace and freedom for Palestinians, the main figure is Lama Jamous who is a child reporter in Palestine, the candles represent those we have all lost while creating an altar atmosphere, the smoke coming from the Palestinian poppy represents spirit (and incense for altar space), and the hands holding the flower represent support and liberation through the images of freedom fighters inside the hands.

We often talk a lot about legacy and what we are leaving behind, but to me I cannot focus on legacy without focusing on liberation for my people and for all people. There is no legacy without liberation. Free Palestine, Free Congo, Free Sudan.

– Malaya Tuyay