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In Milwaukee, Four Artists Unravel Trauma to Move Toward Collective Wellness
by Aurelia Butler 21 August 2025, 14:04
Swoon, “Medea” (2017), wood, hand cut paper, laser cut paper, linoleum block print on paper, acrylic gouache, cardboard, lighting elements
In Milwaukee, Four Artists Unravel Trauma to Move Toward Collective Wellness
August 21, 2025
ArtColossalSocial Issues
Grace Ebert
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In a world riddled with injustice and predicated on privilege for the few at the expense of the many, what does it mean to be well? An exhibition opening Friday at the Haggerty Museum of Art in Milwaukee considers the effects of concealed trauma and the inextricable ties between personal health and collective wellness.
No One Knows All It Takes invites four artists—Bryana Bibbs, Raoul Deal, Maria Gaspar, and Swoon (previously)—who utilize art-making to grapple with complex emotions, imagine solutions to widespread problems, and share their stories and those of others. The timely exhibition, curated by Colossal, brings forth pressing issues like addiction, incarceration, immigration, and a lack of support for caregivers, conveyed through visually arresting works across media.
Bryana Bibbs, “1.25.24-1.26.24” (2024), handwoven Papa George hospital blanket, Papa George playing cards, gifted pants, 11.5 x 14.5 inches
No One Knows All It Takes opens with portraits by Deal, intimate renderings made through hours of conversations with the subjects. Paired with his wooden sculptures, the elaborate carvings explore the central role of immigration in American history and culture. Bibbs’ weavings and monotype prints—created while she cared for her dying grandparents with many of their belongings— follow as a sort of ghostly archive of what remains after death.
Swoon’s “Medea” fills the fourth gallery space, a deeply personal installation that the artist made, in part, to confront her mother’s lifelong struggle with addiction and mental illness. An exposed tarantula mother, portraits of Swoon’s own family, wooden windows, and audio elements layer personal artifacts with recurring motifs about intergenerational trauma.
The Wisconsin iteration of Gaspar’s Disappearance Jail series tucks into a smaller, more confined space at the end of the exhibition. Featuring images of 113 prisons, jails, and juvenile and immigrant detention facilities throughout the state, the project invites visitors to use hole punches to literally remove and obscure the carceral spaces. Because incarceration has historically been the only manner in which society addresses harm and trauma, Gaspar’s work tasks each person with the abolitionist exercise of imagining other possibilities.
Raoul Deal, “Trenzas” (2023), woodcut with deckled edge, 28 x 42 inches
The title, No One Knows All It Takes, came from a conversation with Bibbs, in which she described the emotional, mental, and physical toll of caring for her grandparents in their final months. Referencing the intersecting and multilayered effects of trauma, the phrase is also multivalent: it invokes the immense amount of energy needed to function while ill, the wide-reaching impacts of trauma on an individual’s life, and the social, political, and cultural costs of unaddressed issues.
No One Knows All It Takes will be on view from August 22 to December 20. The Haggerty Museum of Art is located at Marquette University in Milwaukee.
Maria Gaspar, Disappearance Jail series (detail), (2021-ongoing), hundreds of perforated archival Inkjet prints on rice paper, 5 x 7 inches each
Raoul Deal, “Immigration Series #8” (2013), woodcut, 40 x 26 1/4 inches
Swoon, “Medea” (2017), wood, hand cut paper, laser cut paper, linoleum block print on paper, acrylic gouache, cardboard, lighting elements
Bryana Bibbs, “12.27.23” (2023), handwoven Papa George casino playing cards, Papa George hospital blanket, 14 x 9.25 inches
Bryana Bibbs, “8.26.24” (2024), handwoven Papa George athletic tee, Papa George gifted pajama pants, Mema decor flowers, 25 x 9 inches
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Found Objects Hold Puerto Rican Lineage in Adrián Viajero Román’s Layered Portraits
by Aurelia Butler 13 August 2025, 16:09
“Aguas De Libertad” (2012), graphite on wood, cardboard, pastel, 36 x 24 inches. All images courtesy of Adrián Viajero Román, shared with permission
Found Objects Hold Puerto Rican Lineage in Adrián Viajero Román’s Layered Portraits
August 13, 2025
Art
Grace Ebert
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“The objects I use often serve as memory keepers,” says Adrián Viajero Román. “Sometimes they find me—objects with history, decay, or presence—and I build a piece around them. Other times, I begin with a story I want to tell and seek materials that can hold that narrative.”
Román finds an intuitive balance between object and idea, allowing each to influence the other as he melds two-dimensional portraiture with three-dimensional forms like wooden frames, religious iconography, frayed chicken wire, and even an empty can of Goya black beans. These found—and seemingly mundane—items hold stories that reflect the artist’s ongoing interests: memory, migration, and the genealogies we can trace through the objects that accompany us or that we leave behind.
“Picking Up The Pieces” (2018), portrait of Maria Kerialys Aldea de Jesus of Las Piedras, Puerto Rico, graphite on wood, terry cloth, plastic bottles, newspaper, 24 x 18 inches
Based between Brooklyn, New Jersey, and Puerto Rico, Román frequently reflects on the experience of the Puerto Rican diaspora and the bifurcated way of living that can emerge when people leave their homelands. He’s deeply interested in the correlations between belonging and displacement and how preserving the past is essential to telling honest stories about ourselves and communities.
The artist’s works often feature children, who appear as both innocent and supremely knowing. Staring at the viewer with serious eyes, these youthful protagonists might be steadfastly engaged in a game or otherwise posed in a way that suggests impermanence. The child in “Picking Up The Pieces,” for example, grasps a white terrycloth towel in her pudgy hand while sitting atop crunched plastic bottles, a precarious seat that will only hold for so long. Román shares:
The children become physical, dimensional presences, symbols of possibility and resilience that inhabit our space as reminders of hope and imagination… I often depict children because they carry both the innocence of potential and the clarity of truth. In these works, the children aren’t passive. They’re dreaming, resisting, surviving. They become living monuments, carrying the weight of history while pointing us toward the future.
In his solo exhibition titled Archivos Vivos at The National Puerto Rican Museum in Chicago, the artist presents his mixed-media sculptures and installations as a sort of journey through Puerto Rican identity. As its name suggests, archival imagery and objects appear frequently to illustrate the various influences on this collective experience.
“Niño Santo” (2011), graphite and charcoal on wood, window frame, wire, rope, iron claw foot
As part of this exhibition, Román facilitated a pair of workshops that invited community members to reflect on their own experiences and encounters with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and then create either a paper airplane or boat. Participants also responded to a more profound, enduring question: “What does citizenship mean—especially for Puerto Ricans, whose U.S. citizenship was imposed, not chosen?”
“This workshop came at a time of heightened urgency,” Román says, noting that just days before the gatherings, federal agents visited the museum unannounced. “It was a chilling reminder that our communities are still being surveilled, targeted, and threatened. This is why we must keep telling our stories—why we gather in these spaces to remember, create, and resist.”
Archivos Vivos is on view through January 17, 2026. A new installation in his Caja De Memoria Viva series will open this October at the National Portrait Gallery, with a replica to follow for Puro Ritmo at the Smithsonian Latino American Museum in April. Until then, keep up with the artist’s work on his website and Instagram.
“Mi Caridad” (2010), charcoal and graphite on wood, vintage objects (trunk, photos, toys, washboard, and books), 24 x 36 x 24 inches
“Caja De Memoria Viva II, Sobrevivientes: Digna Quiles” (2018), charcoal on wood, 48 x 49 x 48 inches
Interior detail of “Caja De Memoria Viva II, Sobrevivientes: Digna Quiles” (2018), charcoal on wood, 48 x 49 x 48 inches
“Si Yo Sueño,” graphite on wood, vintage suitcase, wood frame, book, twine, wood toy, 17 x 29 x 6 inches
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Vibrant Paper Collages by Lawrence Meju Explore Daily Life and the Human Psyche
by Aurelia Butler 13 August 2025, 13:50
“It Takes Two to Tango” (2025), paper on Brazilian hardboard, 122 x 91 centimeters. All images courtesy of Lawrence Meju, shared with permission
Vibrant Paper Collages by Lawrence Meju Explore Daily Life and the Human Psyche
August 13, 2025
Art
Kate Mothes
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“I often approach my work as a form of quiet world-building, and in many ways, I think of it as a visual journal,” says Lawrence Meju, whose distinctive and vibrant collages draw on surrealism, everyday experiences, and memories.
The Lagos-based artist remembers working with paper collage during some of his earliest introductions to art-making in school, but it wasn’t until 2020, at the height of the pandemic when access to shops and materials was limited, that a little resourcefulness transformed into a new way of working.
“Surreal Situation for Two I” (2023), paper, 60 x 50 centimeters
“I found these interesting, textured papers somewhat abandoned,” Meju tells Colossal. Not necessarily a material he would have chosen off the bat, he was nevertheless motivated to make something—anything—during that time. And the challenge paid off. “I made a quick portrait of myself that leaned towards abstraction, and this was what started my body of work titled Extranormal Portraits.” More recently, his compositions have become increasingly complex and fluid, with numerous figures and symbolic items like clocks, cut flowers, and plants.
Meju’s pieces boldly explore links between daily life, the human psyche, relationships, and perception. “I am currently engaging with themes of fragmentation, reinvention, and identity,” he says. “This engagement is also an ode to my process of creating these collages.” By simplifying the human form and other objects into layered, textured, colorful shapes, he delves into the myriad ways memories, histories, identities, and emotions overlap and inform who we are.
“A guiding force in my work is my commitment to keeping my inner child alive, as well as the drive to create what I want to see in the world,” Meju says. “At first, carving a path outside the mainstream was uncomfortable, but leaning into that discomfort has allowed me to develop a mode of expression that feels authentic to me.”
Meju is currently planning some sculptural works and objects that riff on the visual language of his two-dimensional pieces. If you’re in London in October, find the artist’s work at 1-54 art fair, presented by Soto Gallery, and see more on his Instagram.
“Merry Men I” (2025), paper on Brazilian hardboard, 90 x 60 centimeters. Photo by Samuel Adedotun, Adeyemi-Adejolu
“Self-Portrait Morning Glory” (2023), paper, 60 x 50 centimeters
“In Full Bloom” (2024), paper on Brazilian hardboard, 122 x 91 centimeters
“She Measures the Hours in Petals” (2025), paper on modeling board, 90 x 60 centimeters
“Army for Two” (202), paper on Brazilian hardboard, 122 x 91 centimeters
“What Is Left to Do” (2022), paper, 60 x 50 centimeters
“Before the Sun Sinks Low” (2022), paper, 60 x 50 centimeters
“Hands at Play” (2025), Giclee archival fine art paper print, 55.3 x 38.1 centimeters
“Light Your Path” (2024), paper on paper, 60 x 50 centimeters
“The Garden That Is Your Mind” (2025), paper on modeling board, 90 x 60 centimeters
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In ‘Crewel Intentions,’ Danielle Clough Delves into the Nostalgic World of 1970s Magazines
by Aurelia Butler 11 August 2025, 16:00
“Crewel Intentions” (2025), wool, cotton, rayon, and silk on linen, 9.5 x 18 x 2.25 inches framed. All images courtesy of the artist and Paradigm Gallery + Studio, shared with permission
In ‘Crewel Intentions,’ Danielle Clough Delves into the Nostalgic World of 1970s Magazines
August 11, 2025
ArtCraft
Kate Mothes
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Several years ago, Danielle Clough ran across a vintage copy of Playboy at an antique shop. Unbeknownst to her at the time, the 1970s-era film photography, feathered hairstyles, and iconic—if stereotypical—advertising would influence a wide array of large-scale embroidery portraits.
The Cape Town-based artist (previously) scoured the popular magazine’s pages in search of faces and settings she could translate into embroidery. Because of the source, Clough is sensitive to the fact that one might expect the imagery to be hyper-sexualized, but “when they are stripped from context, they can be beautiful and illicit wholesome reactions in their newly recalibrated, woolly world,” she says.
“Dyed in the Wool” (2025), wool, cotton, rayon, and silk on linen, 14.5 x 14.5 x 2.25 inches framed
In her solo exhibition, Crewel Intentions, now on view at Paradigm Gallery + Studio, Clough’s characteristically vibrant fiber compositions tap into a bygone era that, in terms of time, does not seem too distant, but when measured against the technological and socio-political leaps of the past few decades, it can feel like ancient history. Through the historic technique of crewel embroidery, a form of freehand fiber work in which wool yarn is sewn onto cloth, the artist creates a raised and textured surface that can strike virtually any shape or size.
Nostalgia can have a comforting effect when the contemporary world feels overwhelming. In the 1970s, the world was still largely analog—correspondence primarily went through the mail; magazines and newspapers were printed en masse; and the internet as we know it didn’t yet exist, but there were hints (the “modern” internet would emerge in the mid-1980s).
The artist merges new materials and saturated hues with imagery and styles we often associate with an earlier age, both romanticizing and acknowledging outmoded attitudes, styles, and technologies. “Clough’s appreciation of her material and her subject allows her to start a conversation on graceful aging,” the gallery says, “celebrating outdated processes of making and the aesthetics that stand the test of time.”
The 1970s represent a way to explore generational transitions, beauty standards, societal norms, photography, and representation. Through careful cropping and lighting, Clough incorporates a cinematic effect that is most provocative in pieces like “Crewel Intentions” and “The Extra Mile,” in which her characters make eye contact with the viewer, as if they know what’s in store for the future.
Crewel Intentions continues through August 24 in Philadelphia. Explore more on the artist’s website and Instagram.
Detail of “Crewel Intentions”
Installation view of ‘Crewel Intentions’ at Paradigm Gallery + Studio
“The Extra Mile” (2025), wool, cotton, rayon, and silk on linen, 8.25 x 16.25 x 1.5 inches framed
“The Yarn We Spin” (2025), wool, cotton, rayon, and silk on linen, 25 inches diameter
Detail of “What’s a Girl to Do?” (2025), wool, cotton, rayon and silk on linen, 32 inches diameter
Installation view of ‘Crewel Intentions’ at Paradigm Gallery + Studio
“Boy Lollipop” (2025), wool, cotton, and silk on linen, 17 inches diamater
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Gabrielle Garland’s House Portraits Illuminate Daily Life, Individuality, and the ‘Fabric of Society’
by Aurelia Butler 31 July 2025, 19:30
“Good morning, winner. Take a deep breath. Good. You’re ready to dominate this day. —
Motivational Voice,
Booksmart (2019)” (2024), acrylic and oil on canvas, 48 x 48 inches. All images courtesy of the artist and Miles McEnery Gallery, shared with permission
Gabrielle Garland’s House Portraits Illuminate Daily Life, Individuality, and the ‘Fabric of Society’
July 31, 2025
Art
Kate Mothes
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Gabrielle Garland may not depict people in her square-format, mixed-media paintings, yet the works might as well be described as portraits. From mailboxes and landscape choices to colorful stoops and glowing interior lights, her vibrant depictions of houses seem to come alive with saturated color and almost palpable feeling.
Distorted, even cartoonish, Garland’s homes portray a range of American vernacular styles, from ranches to bungalows to Queen Annes. Often, neighborhood happenings enter the scene, like the shoulder of an adjacent house, power lines, trees, or planes flying overhead.
“Remember, you’re the one who can fill the world with sunshine. — Snow White, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)” (2024), acrylic and oil on canvas, 36 x 36 inches
A new solo exhibition of Garland’s work opens at Miles McEnery Gallery next month, titled I’ll Get You, My Pretty, and Your Little Dog Too. Her titles typically reference quotes from films, ranging in tone and topic as much as her homes also appear to do.
“Stairs, flower boxes, and mailboxes swell or shrink disproportionately, revealing the distortions of the artist’s memory (that murky area where structural logic intermingles with emotional noise),” says a gallery statement. Whether depicted at night, during fireworks displays, in a storm, or in the blazing sun, the details of each house converge with out-of-context sentiments from movies that draw us into their unique characteristics and quirks while also affording a playful insight into the artist’s frame of mind.
Garland takes inspiration from everyday observations around her home in New York and beyond. She often works from her own photographs, sometimes using found images. “My body of work might be interpreted as an investigation of the physical fabric of society,” Garland told Dovetail. “I believe it documents the constantly shifting balance between our desire for independence and interconnection, between the comfort and familiarity we seek and the strangely disorienting spaces we create.”
I’ll Get You, My Pretty, and Your Little Dog Too opens on September 4 and continues through October 25 in New York City. Find more on Garland’s website and Instagram.
“Whoever you are, I have always depended on the kindness of strangers. —Blanche DuBois, A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)” (2025), acrylic, oil, and glitter on canvas, 48 x 48 inches
“I’m glad he’s single because I’m going to climb that like a tree. —Megan, Bridesmaids (2011)” (2024), acrylic on canvas, 48 x 48 inches
“We have enough. You can stop now. —Ava Fontaine, Lord of War (2005)” (2024), acrylic, molding paste, glitter, and oil on canvas, 48 x 48 inches
“And… and… c’mon, Nick, what do you expect? To live happily ever after? —Elizabeth James, The Parent Trap (1998)” (2024), acrylic, oil, and glitter on canvas, 48 x 48 inches
“I don’t bite, you know… unless it’s called for. —Regina Lampert, Charade (1963)” (2024), acrylic on canvas, 48 x 48 inches
“I’m scared. —Christine, Before I Go to Sleep (2014)” (2025), acrylic and glitter on canvas, 36 x 36 inches
“That is why every day we pray for rain. —Daena, Planet of the Apes (2001)” (2024), acrylic and glitter on canvas, 36 x 36 inches
“It’s just, living alone, you know? And, the thought of buying those books like Cooking For One, and… it’s just too depressing. —Allison Jones, Single White Female (1992)” (2024), acrylic on canvas, 48 x 48 inches
“I guess it feels different when it’s someone you love —Cassandra, Promising Young Woman (2020)” (2025), acrylic on canvas, 36 x 36 inches
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More than 70 Iconic Works by Kerry James Marshall Shape a Major Survey in the U.K.
by Aurelia Butler 31 July 2025, 14:36
“Untitled” (2009), acrylic on PVC panel, 155.3 x 185.1 centimeters. Yale University Art Gallery, Purchased with the Janet and Simeon Braguin Fund and a gift from Jacqueline L. Bradley, B.A. 1979. © Kerry James Marshall. ‘Kerry James Marshall: The Histories’ is organized by the Royal Academy of Arts, London, in collaboration with the Kunsthaus Zürich and the Musée d’Art Moderne, Paris. All images courtesy of the Royal Academy of Arts, shared with permission
More than 70 Iconic Works by Kerry James Marshall Shape a Major Survey in the U.K.
July 31, 2025
ArtSocial Issues
Kate Mothes
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Drawing upon art historical sources, contemporary culture, and comics, Kerry James Marshall vibrant paintings boldly challenge the past. Through often monumental portraits of Black figures, the Chicago-based artist (previously) delves into themes of race, identity, legacy, and representation to bridge history and the present and imagine a better future.
In the largest survey of the artist’s work ever presented outside of the U.S., the Royal Academy of Arts hosts Kerry James Marshall: The Histories. Organized in collaboration with Kunsthaus Zurich and the Musée d’Art Moderne, Paris, the exhibition opens next month and features more than 70 works that span the artist’s career thus far. The show also includes a monumental oil painting commissioned for the Chicago Public Library titled “Knowledge and Wonder,” which is on loan for the first time.
“School of Beauty, School of Culture” (2012), acrylic and glitter on unstretched canvas, 274.3 x 401.3 centimeters. Collection of the Birmingham Museum of Art, Alabama; Museum purchase with funds provided by Elizabeth (Bibby) Smith, the Collectors Circle for Contemporary Art, Jane Comer, the Sankofa Society, and general acquisition funds, 2012.57. Photo by Sean Pathasema. © Kerry James Marshall. Courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York
The Histories is organized into 11 groups of works made between 1980 and the present, inviting viewers through a thematic and stylistic journey. The exhibition opens with “The Academy,” painted in 2012. A male model in a life drawing class stands in front of a patterned backdrop and looks directly at the viewer, giving the iconic raised fist of the Black Power movement.
Marshall has long been guided by his early encounters with European art in museums and books, where he recognized a stark lack of Black figures. By the 1980s, he focused on the idea of visibility, creating the seminal piece “A Portrait of the Artist as a Shadow of His Former Self,” which emphasizes his interest in confronting stereotypes.
Typically working in series or cycles, Marshall often touches upon epochal social and political paradigms of the past, like slavery and the Middle Passage, Black Power and the Civil Rights movement, and the historical omission of people of color from Western painting traditions. His works often highlight daily African American experience and elevate everyday activities and interactions, like gathering at the barber shop, making a painting, relaxing at the park, or hanging out on the porch. Marshall posits that the past can be a tool with which to hew the future.
Kerry James Marshall: The Histories opens on September 20 and continues through January 18 in London. Plan your visit on the RA’s website.
“The Academy” (2012), acrylic on PVC, 182.9 x 154.9 centimeters. Collection of Dr. Daniel S. Berger, © Kerry James Marshall. Image courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York
“Knowledge and Wonder” (1995), oil on canvas, 294.6 x 698.5 centimeters. City of Chicago Public Art Program and the Chicago Public Library, Legler Regional Library, © Kerry James Marshall. Photo by Patrick L. Pyszka, City of Chicago
“Vignette #13” (2008), acrylic on PVC panel, 182.9 x 152.4 centimeters. Susan Manilow Collection. © Kerry James Marshall. Image courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York
“Untitled (Policeman)” (2015), acrylic on PVC panel with plexiglass frame, 152.4 x 152.4 centimeters. The Museum of Modern Art, New York, gift of Mimi Haas in honor of Marie-Josée Kravis, 2016. © Kerry James Marshall. Photo courtesy of The Museum of Modern Art, New York/Scala, Florence
“Untitled (Porch Deck)” (2014), acrylic on PVC panel, 180.3 x 149.9 centimeters. Kravis Collection, © Kerry James Marshall. Image courtesy of the artist and David Zwirner, London
“De Style” (1993), acrylic and collage on canvas, 264.2 x 309.9 centimeters. Los Angeles County Museum of Art, purchased with funds provided by Ruth and Jacob Bloom. © Kerry James Marshall. Photo: © Museum Associates/LACMA
“Untitled (Blanket Couple)” (2014), acrylic on PVC panel, in artist’s frame, 150.2 x 242.5 centimeters. Fredriksen Family Art Collection, © Kerry James Marshall. Image courtesy of the artist and David Zwirner, London
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Hypnotic Patterns Envelop Sofia Bonati’s Nostalgic and Stylish Imagined Portraits
by Aurelia Butler 29 July 2025, 17:19
All images courtesy of Sofia Bonati, shared with permission
Hypnotic Patterns Envelop Sofia Bonati’s Nostalgic and Stylish Imagined Portraits
July 29, 2025
ArtIllustration
Kate Mothes
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In the bold, imagined portraits of Sofia Bonati (previously), women gaze confidently from swaths of fabric and symmetrical organic elements. Whether cloaking her figures in geometric patterns or natural details like insect wings, each individual gazes directly at the viewer amid vibrant backgrounds and elegant garments.
Bonati often derives her patterns and outfits from historical sources, especially hairstyles and gowns from the early 20th century. Surrounded by optical designs and repetitive motifs, her compositions are as nostalgic and surreal as they are contemporary. Find more on the artist’s website and Instagram.
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Unity and Resilience Flow Through Taquen’s Gestural Compositions
by Aurelia Butler 10 July 2025, 20:00
Unity and Resilience Flow Through Taquen’s Gestural Compositions
July 10, 2025
ArtSocial Issues
Jackie Andres
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In large-scale minimalist compositions, street artist Taquen covers the sides of houses, hospitals, and street barriers with reminders of strength and mutual understanding.
Often depicting animals in motion, kinetic portraits, and expressive hands, Taquen’s expansive works exude momentum. The importance of movement reflects a central tenet of the artist’s practice, as he visits different parts of the world to work on murals.
One of his recent excursions was made possible by The Jaunt, a residency program that creates opportunities for artists to travel to a new destination to spark inspiration and connection. In February, Taquen made the journey from his hometown of Madrid to Africa to participate in the Sahara Marathon.
Established in 2001 to advocate for and demonstrate solidarity with the Sahrawi people, the international event takes place in close proximity to Tindouf, Algeria, a region that has been marked by the Western Sahara Conflict and humanitarian crisis for decades.
In 1975, when Spain relinquished its colonial rule over the Western Sahara region, a power vacuum erupted between neighboring countries, leading to the Madrid Accords. This agreement heavily ignored the voices of Indigenous Sahrawi people who were forced into displacement, eventually settling into refugee camps that still reside in the Algerian desert approximately fifty years later.
The long-standing conflict has faded in and out of headlines for decades, but the Sahara Marathon has continued to shine a light on the resilience of the Sahrawi people. “It was a project that allowed me to combine my greatest passions—art and sport—and also to contribute as much as possible to this unjust cause,” Taquen shares.
The artist’s resulting silkscreen print demonstrates his experiences in Tindouf. Featuring two gestural hands with bold line work that subtly nods to henna, Taquen references young Sahrawi women, who play a vital role in the desert’s society. “During the marathon, for example, they were the ones who encouraged us the most,” the artist shares. “In the houses where we lived, they took care of us, their families, and so on. They are an example.”
Arabic text lies below, alluding to a phrase that resonated with Taquen along the way. “The Sahrawi people living in the refugee camps call this place ‘the desert in the desert,’ which is meant both geographically and metaphorically. I knew I wanted to reference that in my artwork,” he says.
Beyond the limited-edition print, Taquen also created a four-color risograph portrait combining line drawings and analog photography. And before leaving the refugee camps, the artist hosted two art workshops for children, sharing, “at the end of the day, these are boys and girls who do not speak my language, but through drawing we were able to express ourselves. It taught me a lot about their ideas and their hopes for the future.”
The artist is currently in Sicily completing the Graniti Murales residency and has a busy year coming up including an art festival this summer and a solo exhibition in the fall. Keep up with his work on Instagram, and learn more on his website.
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portraits

More stories

Found Objects Hold Puerto Rican Lineage in Adrián Viajero Román’s Layered Portraits

Vibrant Paper Collages by Lawrence Meju Explore Daily Life and the Human Psyche

In ‘Crewel Intentions,’ Danielle Clough Delves into the Nostalgic World of 1970s Magazines

Gabrielle Garland’s House Portraits Illuminate Daily Life, Individuality, and the ‘Fabric of Society’

Hypnotic Patterns Envelop Sofia Bonati’s Nostalgic and Stylish Imagined Portraits

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