Category: Activism

FREE THE YOUTH (2023)

(2023) cardboard sculpture, performance and film

 

Let me preface this by saying, youth incarceration is a mistake made by a society that has lost its ability to properly care for its youngest citizens. In my experience American incarceration aims at nothing more than to punish, no real path to rehabilitation is ever encouraged, only creating comradery between those who have similar convictions sharing how to be a better criminal upon release. I’m pretty skeptical generally of locking anyone in a box and keeping them there, its even more obvious that locking a child in a box is just another form of torture. A trauma that we as a country continue to live through the results of on a daily basis. I constructed these 88” tall, 24” wide, 10” deep cardboard letters. Made entirely from recycled cardboard, wood glue, and recycled paint. The Degenerate Art Ensemble gave me space to construct March of 2023. I then organized a small parade to transport the letters to a new space provided by Nii Modo where they could be painted. Over the next three months the letters received a paint job, and the final parade was organized and executed. Involving the community in the paradeing of these letters to their final resting location outside the youth detention center in Seattle was a very satisfying conclusion to this journey. The final stage of the parade was attended by a writer (Claude Souvenir) capturing the reactions of the public to our FREE THE YOUTH walk.

 

Notes on a Procession. By Claude Souvenir

 

Concept, build, and direction by Ezra Dickinson

Sound Composed by WIZDUMB

Edited by Doug Arney

This project made possible with support from Degenerate Art Ensemble, Punk Rock Flea Market/NII MODO, Benjamin, Anthony, Dani, Nahaan, Maia, Hannah, Jodi, Paul, Aubry, Kristen, VK, Mandy, Cash, Shawn, Kaleb, Mallory, Jeffery, Victoria, Daniel, and Alison.

 

 

Photo: Anthony Rigano

Photo: Anthony Rigano

Photo: Anthony Rigano

LAND BACK (2023)

(2023) Mural Indiginous resistance

 

The landscape of art in the northwest is complicated, and all that complication sits on the truth that this land is stolen. I am an adopted killer whale, with my Tlingit family we create to heal, we create together to teach each other, we sing and dance to heal our traditions, we connect with our ancestors through this practice. I am finding new life in learning through this, I am reckoning with my white self as I have been adopted and welcomed into indigenous culture. I am living a conflict, and it’s quite wild just as it should be.

 

No Human is Illegal (2022)

 

(2022) No Human Is Illegal Poster

 

My response in poster form to the constant attacks from republican politicians against innocent humans fleaing genocide, political turmoil, and climate catastrophe. Arbitrary lines drawn on the earth are nothing, borders are fake and only used to hurt those with little or no power. The future does not have borders, we live on earth. We must care for all humans, especially those facing hardship. Posters painted with acrylic paint on paper, four sections, two at 2’x3’, and two at 7’x3’. As always if you would like to commission a poster, reach out to Ezra at: ezramdickinson@gmail.com

 

  

State of emergence (2021) film

(2021) film 

STATE OF EMERGENCE VIDEO
This is a short film created by Austin Wilson, produced with Overall Creative during the summer of 2020. Features John Richards, Kathleen Warren and the creation of murals by Barry Johnson and Ezra Dickinson. It is a look at the thoughts and messages behind the works, during the summer when everything was boarded up and artists began to paint in the streets.
Additionally works shown by Amaris O. Hamer, Vivid Matter Collective, Paulina Cholewinski, Crystal Barbre, Casey Weldon, Zach Rockstad, Anne Siems, Baso Fibonacci, Zach Takasawa, Robert Tardiff, Connor McPherson, Evann Strathern, Billie Avery. Music by the Polyrhythmics.

 

 

Photos Austin Wilson

AMONG US (2021)

(2021) poster

 

Poster painted and placed in Seattle. This work is 14’x7’. This location has been at the center of the recent ongoing protests/marches in response to the police murder of George Floyd. 

 

During the spring and summer of 2020, protesters held an occupation of the area around the police precinct/neighborhood. The local police precinct is directly across the street. The first poster $TATE OF EMERGENCY was speaking to the crisis declared in Washington state in regards to homlessness. This new poster is speaking to the need for safe and humain sites for individuals dealing with addiction, under the supervision of care workers offering support and resources to help folks find a new path towards an addiction-free life. In a broader sense both of these posters speak to the current state of humanity as we deal with the covid pandemic. 
In the constant rush of the everyday world, we may overlook the hardship that we as a society have endured not just for the last two years but more so as a way of life. The expectation that the act of living, keeping a roof over your head, feeding yourself, healthcare, education, all are things we must work to have. If you don’t want to, or for one reason or another you can’t, what are your options? How do we care for one another? How do we take care of our own mental health? I’m constantly asking myself these questions.

 

Kaaseiyi (2021)

(2021) woodwork canoe

 

This canoe is named Kaaseiyi, meaning voice of man. The canoe is named after Nahaan’s father Roger Alexander. Roger was Kaigani Haida, from double headed eagle, frog, beaver clan. From Hydaburg AK. Traditionally in native culture mostly men build canoes, and traditionally in western culture boats are given the gender of female. With Kaaseiyi, Nahaan intentionally separates this act of love and remembrance from western practise and expectations, and firmly sets this gift as a gift of not only memory but of tradition and cultural responsibility. A vessel for learning and growing family, through songs, protocol, and leadership.

 

I was asked by Nahaan if I could help build Kaaseiyi after the cedar strips had been formed and set into their place to make the dugout canoe shape. We began by prepping for delivery to the fiberglasser. After fiberglass had been applied both inside and out, we sanded it down to a smooth state. We landed at our first generous work space offering at the Museum of Museums (MoM) in Seattle. While at MoM, we cut the rough shapes for the in and out wales, and the bow and stern top pieces. We steam bent the in and out wales and attached them. Then it was time to move to our next generous work space offering provided by Vermillion Art Gallery also in Seattle. While at Vermillion, we steam bent the rails that sit on top of the in and out wales, steam bent and attached the risers that the seats rest on, and we cut and fitted four seats. At this point we began to clean, shape and refine the overall body. 

 

Each work session would start with sage, and at the end of the work day, songs would be sung to Kaaseiyi. Our last step was painting, starting with primer, sanding, primer, sanding, and probably a little more primer once the surface was as smooth as we thought we could get it. Then we started adding color, and delineating shapes. The shape that the black makes on the outside is referencing the belly of the killer whale. Many more coats of marine grade paint, a little wax, and we were ready to have a naming ceremony and launch. 

 

On a perfectly beautiful overcast rainy Sunday afternoon at Golden Gardens, we formally named the canoe Kaaseiyi. A representative from the Duwamish Tribe attended and gave us permission to launch, have a safe journey, and come back again soon. We loaded up seven deep, and pushed off into the water, watching as the small crowd of attendees sang us songs and danced on the beach. The sea lions and eagles were circling and watching us as we pulled our way around the buoy and back to the beach.
 
What a gift to help my best friend build this boat, we both built this with no prior experience in building a canoe. We could not have done this without the guidance of master canoe builders, Wayne Price, Beau Wagner, Dale Bekkela, Joe Martin, Al Charles, and Stormy Hamar from up the coast to Canada and AK. The reverence for the craft of building a vessel that holds human life in the water is a profound learning lesson. I’m thankful to have been given the chance to share in this truly amazing process.

NAMING CEREMONY

 

After the completion of building Kaaseiyi, a few months later we began the formline design covering the outside of Kaaseiyi. First Nahaan sketched out the design on the left side, then I copied the design to the right side. Then we spent time redrawing and refining the formline design. Helping hands started to add the colors, three coats of paint later Kaaseiyi had his decoration.

 

Stories (2020-present)

Stories from the Streets or Being Seen (working titles) (2020-present)

 

This is the seed project for what will become a much larger, interactive, citywide performance experience. To begin, I have been awarded funding from 4Culture to collect interviews from people living on the street experiencing homelessness. My aim is to find individuals who would like to talk with me about their experience living on the street. I have found myself gravitating to these folks for two reasons: 1) My mother lived on the street for a period of time after I began living on my own, and before she ultimately was committed to Western State hospital; and 2) I can’t help but see a clear correlation between out of control rental prices and the rapid increase in the homeless population in the northwest.

 

 

Through this funding I will compensate the individuals interviewed. I want to collect these interviews and geo tag the locations where the interviewees are living. In Seattle currently the people living on the street are routinely dislocated or swept from their established homes on the street, a practise that is both inhumane and, given that we are still in the grips of a worldwide pandemic, is all the more absurd an action to be taken against an already extremely vulnerable population. 
Once I have collected as many interviews as funding will allow for, I will create a website which houses all of these stories and cross references each one with a QR code that will be placed at the location of past residence for each individual I interview. This will create both a visual link to the inhabitants that occupied these street homes–prior to being displaced yet again–and determine a walking tour through Seattle that someone could follow to see these stories activated from one QR code to the next.
This first step will lay the groundwork for the larger piece. I will endeavor to fill in the path that is created from these stories with installation, both site specific and gallery. There will be sound that will accompany the viewer through this journey. There will be pre recorded performance that lives as a sort of ghost along this path. All this will come together to create a walking tour that can be entered at any point, at any time.

 

T-Shirts (2020-present)

Wear your support for an open dialogue on RENT CONTROL in Washington State.

 

Proceeds from sales of these t-shirts go to support Sawhorse Revolution. Check out the link and learn about the wonderful programs they foster benefiting youth and the homeless in our region.
Two color WE DESERVE RENT CONTROL silkscreen (black t-shirt) and three color RENT CONTROL silkscreen (white t-shirt). Both designs are printed on a soft cotton shirt, currently only available in colors shown.
If you would like to arange an in Seattle hand off email requests to: ezramdickinson@gmail.com

 

Walk with us (2020)

(2020) painted banner

 

I felt compelled to respond to the conflicts between Black Lives Matters marchers and the violent provocations of the police. Inspired by seeing a few police officers in different cities choosing to walk with demonstrators as they marched. I aimed to tell Seattle Police officers to embrace the community and its vulnerabilities, stand up for the underserved, walk with us and choose to hear the voices of the people.

 

Bowls of Words (2019-present)

(2019-present) Ongoing project of ceramic bowls

 

One thing that has always attracted me to pottery is the potential permanence that clay possesses. In the first stage, I threw, fired and glazed thirtythree soup bowls, decorated with one of three phrases ( I WAS BORN A WOMAN, IT IS A SERIOUS THING JUST TO BE, MASTERS WERE FEARFUL) I felt spoke of who we are as a society at this time. Inspired by ancient texts, ceramic law cones and the discovery of these artifacts in modern day. With these Bowls of Words I aim to create a document that could be discovered in the future by another civilization. 

 

 

For 2020 I threw over 100 bowls, some porcelain, some terracotta, with the three phrases ( I LOVE YOU, WE ARE ANIMALS, FREE THE FUTURE). Also see, Bowls for Sale.

 

For 2021 I chose the three phrases, SPACE ANNIHILATORS, YOU AND I ARE EARTH, and TIME IS MEMORY. Here’s a little explanation of the three phrases: SPACE ANNIHILATORS, in reference to humans, comes from Paramahansa Yogananda; YOU AND I ARE EARTH, was written on a plate discovered in the sewer of England also accompanied by the date of 1661; and TIME IS MEMORY, is the creative mantra of my good friend. Bowls for Sale

 

For 2022 the three phrases I chose were, NADIE ES ILEGAL, GIVE TAKE, and MOONAGE DAYDREAM. With each bowl I’m planting a seed that looks to grow into a future revelation about who we are at this time. Someone or something may unearth a broken piece or an intact bowl in an archaeological dig, and learn about humans of the 21st century. I also like the idea of inanimate objects having a voice, kind of beautiful I think.

I chose these words because I feel that we have a lot to learn about how to be kind humans. We have allowed artificial lines to be drawn, we give power to “leaders” who capitalize on these imaginary lines to demonize people fleeing climate catastrophe, and political upheaval. NADIE ES ILEGAL, no one is illegal. 

GIVE TAKE can be applied in so many ways in our lives. I specifically left out the more traditional & in the middle because I wanted to make plain my interest in the act of giving and taking. 

What do you think of when you imagine a MOONAGE DAYDREAM? David Bowie’s iconic title on an iconic album is just the beginning. MOONAGE DAYDREAM feels like a limitless possibility in my imagination. Bowls for Sale

 

For 2023 I added in a few new phrases, WHATEVER, QUESTION EVERYTHING, and THEY WERE LIKE GODS. I took a look back at past phrases that still feel present to me and mixed in a few new fonts. Alongside this work I also made time to explore more complicated ideas and possibilities with big bowls and the layering of text and designs. I’m thinking for 2024 I want to continue to broaden this big bowl project in two ways, collaborating with living writers to capture words that speak to our current state of humanity, and to share my own personal truths about familial relationships. I make this work from the stance of creating bowls that both serve the use of vessels and as a voice in the future. Bowls for sale.