by Rhiannon M. Bacon
For Gay Pride month, The ARTery held an event for the artistic side of the rainbow in Huntsville. We called it ARTist's Pride. This was just days after the Orlando Massacre when many of us woke up Sunday morning to the news of the largest shooting in US history. Hashtags such as #OrlandoStrong were trending, as were the images of Florida performers (and performers all over the country) holding their hands, making a heart, standing in solidarity.
The tragedy was felt deeply by us at Rusted Shaman Circus, and one of the art projects we did at ARTist's Pride, a week later, was a photographic collage. We asked people to participate in the project by holding their hands in the symbol of a heart. Later we would organize the photos in a rainbow collage. In the long run, we were really asking people in community spirit to stand on the side of love.
It is now a month later and many more horrible things have happened in our country, and around the world. I kept putting off finishing the collage as more things happened. Solidarity no longer seemed the right word. Standing in solidarity is something you do when something happens to other people and you are not involved in it. We are ALL affected and involved by violence ANYWHERE. Yet, it is more important now than ever to remember what we are really made of, and what we really stand for.
As I worked on the photos, which are only close-ups of hands, I thought about the people they belonged to, and I tried to remember what the people posing were like. It wasn't as easy I thought. With only their hands, a commonality, I had a hard time distinguishing modifiers like age, sex, and even race - they all become a little difficult to guess. Someone whom I knew was middle-aged might end up with hands looking like a teenager. Someone with tanned, sun weathered hands might end up looking middle-eastern. When all these things that we make divide us are no long discernible, they dissolved.
Of course, we all do look different. We all are different inside, too. But we don't have to let that divide us. We can focus on our commonalities and stand in unity; we can focus on our differences and come out stronger.
It was a wonderful, unexpected consequence of making this artwork. Make things. They will always surprise you.
Did you participate in our project? Click on the image to make it bigger and see if you can find your hands!
