Divides and Disparities

Medium: Acrylic, charcoal, graphite and watercolor on creased paper

Size: 1079.5x762mm or 42.5x30in

Date: 2018

I refer to the Economic Policy Institute's 2013 findings on the average incomes of the top 1 percent and the bottom 99 percent in each state to create Divides and Disparities. Twenty-five U.S. states are placed in order from highest to lowest in income inequality, with New York and Connecticut having the largest inequalities between each of their top 1 percent and bottom 99 percent.

I attempt to look at socioeconomic inequality in the context of states and the nation as a whole. I paint self-portraits in a grid and use contrast to model the face. The starker contrast serves as a symbol for larger income gaps in each U.S. state. Roads and rivers connect across state borders.