Category: Activism

Mother Father (2019)

(2019) Commissioned public art mural, Mosquito MT, Leadville CO.

 

Painted with the assistance of artist NKO while in residence at Artville in Leadville CO. 13,000 feet up in the mountains on an old abandoned radio shack, this message speaks to past generations asking them how have they cared for the world that is being handed off to younger generations? Painted with Enamel paint, the message will stand as a visual voice in the cold high land of the mountains. 

 

Bring Back The Salmon (2019)

(2019) Commissioned public art mural, Art in Parks, Seattle WA.

 

Working together, Nahaan and I designed a native formline salmon, as a rain-activated, ground stencil. Working with the Office of Arts and Culture Art in Parks, we settled on Alki Beach Park as our project site. We used RainWorks to stencil a temporary non toxic clear coating which is only visible during Seattle’s rainy weather. The stencil design we created was roughly 4’ long and 2’ tall. This installation is meant to bring attention to the loss of native salmon in this region as a result of overfishing, dam’s blocking salmon runs and pollution. We possess the power to change the fate of the northwest salmon.
 

$tate of Emergency (2019)

(2019) Visual art poster exhibition, The BLDG, Seattle WA.

 

Painted with funding from 4culture Art Projects, this was the culmination of a grant I received supporting Rent Control postering. Three large posters (this one measured 14’x7’) were created, two classes/lectures were presented to highschool kids along with one poster making demonstration. A run of rent control T-shirts was also created with this funding.

 

 

Artist Lecture on practice and current projects. University Prep, Seattle WA 

If you would like one of these WE DESERVE RENT CONTROL T-Shirts. Email Ezra at: baldieoner@hotmail.com
Funds from T-Shirt sales go towards Sawhorse Revolution, and printing future messages on T-Shirts.

Abortion is Freedom (2019)

(2019) designed and hand painted poster

 

In anticapation of the LA Women’s March, Shout Your Abortion commissioned No Touching Ground and I to create this large two section poster to be displayed in Pershing Square nearby the start of the march. We designed and hand painted this work to fit perfectly into the media advert display case shown here. It is an unquestionable right that women have access to legal abortions and be able to choose for themselves what’s best for their body. Men and religious beliefs have no place imposing their expectations on any woman’s ability to make a choice.

 

photo NTG

Give us a voice (2019)

(2019) commissioned choreography

 

Choreography set on ten young women in North Star Ballet School’s advanced level. This work was created in collaboration with the students. I’ve been interested in exploring different ways of integrating text, voice, and clear messaging into my choreographic works. This interest began with creating gifts of performance for my mother. When I arrived at North Star, I had decided that I wanted to ask my cast of ten young women the question, “what do you have to say to the generation that is leaving you this earth”. We spent a good portion of our first rehearsal time talking about this question. I wrote down each answer, after hearing all the thoughts, I explained that I wanted to build the choreography around the words that we had just discussed. Collectively we settled on “give us a voice” as the text and title for the piece.
My aim was to push these young performers to not only realise my movement ideas, I wanted them to realise their voices individually and as a collective by building vocalised text into the choreography from the very start of rehearsals. I had decided beforehand that the sound used in this work was to come directly from the performers live. Exploration of repetition, abstraction, volume, and exhaustion was the ideas I built, and shaped this work vocally, around. I feel that younger performers often have to be shown how to learn a section of choreography so that they can know this movement sequence without having to think about what step comes next. When this effortlessness is found, the next step is to run this movement sequence to the edge of exhaustion so that the dancer’s ego is shed. When this is found ten dancers can perform as one, their awareness of the ensemble grows and is able to collectively lift each other up. A clear image of the body being propelled by muscle is the intended result. This is quite a lot to ask of young performers, I feel though that this is the most important concept to have been introduced to in the development of a young professional dancer. I was quite proud of what these ten young women accomplished in our time together in rehearsal. This work was set to premier in Fairbanks in April 2020, unfortunately Covid-19 had other plans, so for now the premier is on hold.

 

Artville Residency (2019)

(2019) Leadville Colorado residency

 

The month of October, high in the mountains, served as a time for allowing space. My time was spent walking, seeing mountain tops, movement researching/choreographing, environment sketches, mural painting, all while living with dear friends.

 

 

I was able to create the movement framework used for the choreographic commission at North Star Ballet in Fairbanks Alaska following my residency. My environment sketches serve as a personal photograph for my eyes, a drawn memory of any location that captures my attention.

 

 

My friends like to walk. While at Artville I was invited to go for a three-day walk along a section of the Continental Divide Trail. I have for quite a long time fantasized about long distance walking. This served as a beautiful introduction to this revealing and healing path.

 

 

I visited the peaks of five mountain tops over 14,000 feet while at Artville. I have a long standing practice of planting a handstand at the top of high points. I aim to try and pretend that while in the handstand, I’m actually rightside up and holding up the mountain and world in my hands. As a student of my own body, I love the reality of walking up a steep mountain, the physical strength and stamina needed to listen to and work through rapid altitude shifts is humbling to say the least.

 

XEIGAA LATSEEN (2019)

(2019) poster collaboration

 

Created with my best friend Nahaan. This poster speaks to the sad reality that indigenous women continue to be murdered and go missing. Inadequately investigated, this heartbreaking reality pulls at the backbone of culture and strength in native families, communities, and ceremonies. The words XEIGAA LATSEEN in Tlingit  translate to “TRUE POWER”, true power and wealth come from strong women.

 

BASIC HUMAN NEEDS (2018)

(2018) Visual art poster, Seattle WA

 

In an effort to voice what to some might be viewed as overly idealistic. One must press ahead and put actions, thoughts and intentions into public space that support what we all understand as goals that can not be forgotten, let alone actually brought into reality for the survival and betterment of all humanity.

 

Daniel Covarrubias (2018)

(2018) designed and hand painted poster

 

The family of Daniel gave their blessings for No Touching Ground and I to create this portrait. De Escalate Washington acted as an intermediary between us and the family as we worked to create this memorial. NTG painted the portrait and I the text. Daniel, the proud father of seven, had been dealing with mental health issues and drug use before being murdered by Tacoma police. Daniel was unarmed when police shot him. This is another example of police killing a person experiencing mental distress. Death could have been avoided if a properly experienced social health response team could have responded instead of unprepared police. No officers have been charged in the murder of Daniel.

 

Photo NTG

Charleena Lyles (2018)

(2018) designed and hand painted poster

 

With the blessings of the family, and working with De Escalate Washington, No Touching Ground and I painted this portrait of Charleena Lyles. NTG painted the portrait and I the text. Charleena was murdered by Seattle police officers during a call made by Charleena regarding a burglary in her home. Although Charleena had dealt with mental instability there is no excuse for this loss of life. Police responses with death and excessive force to routine calls happen far too often. Defund the police and divert those funds to humain social/community based services that are better equipped to respond to the needs of vulnerable communities.

 

Photo NTG