Water Prayers
2020-2022

During the George Floyd Uprising in Minneapolis, Powderhorn neighborhood residents (where I reside) came together to rise up against police violence and protect ourselves amidst the chaos. Everyone was instructed to keep water buckets full and at hand in case of fire emergencies. In the aftermath of the uprisings, these buckets remained throughout the neighborhood, out of fear that the fires would still burn. I went out and visited people's water buckets in my neighborhood and marbled paper on the surface using a technique called suminigashi. I then took the marbled images, enlarged them, and burned them into plywood (a ubiquitous supply, as it was used to protect businesses' windows) using pyrography techniques. To me these are alchemic prayers, honoring the grief, anger, fear, anguish and powerful love that were so unbelievably potent during such a world-changing event. Select woodburnings were publicly displayed at Central Luthern Church in downtown Minneapolis, spring 2025.