Category: Street

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

Valpo Painting (2023)

(2023) Valpariso Chile, mural painting

 

As a celebration of my fortieth year I was invited by two friends to check out a very special city in Chile named Valparaiso. Selected as a UNESCO world heritage site for the role graffiti, street art and murals has played in recent and past revolutions. I truly appreciate the chance to get outside of my comfort zone, being so far from home and wrapped in Chilean cultural richness. Finding a pace to fit in amongst all the creativity took a few days to make itself clear to us. Once we had our plan the community welcomed us. Learning language in a methodical way, my friends and I spent all possible time painting in the streets. Connecting with and making new friends happens naturally when you are the entertainment in real time. Living amongst a people and culture that values public art is a shock to the sences coming from the limitations of the US.

Gallery Bunkawitz (2022)

(2022) Gallery Bukawitz

 

In memory of a great cat (Bunkawitz) Seattle’s tiniest gallery has been formed. Curated by Danielle Blackwell, Tim Fowler and myself Ezra Dickinson, we aim to give our neighborhood and anyone who wonders by a little taste of the creations regularly being made here at our home. New exhibits every two months, starting September 2022. You can follow Gallery Bunkawitz on instagram @gallery_bunkawitz

 

  

     

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.

 

YOU ARE NOT ALONE (2020)

(2020) Commissioned public art mural. Life on Mars, Seattle WA. 

 

This mural was organized by Overall Creative, who sourced five muralists that worked to paint one of four walls on the facade of record store and eatery, Life on Mars. This work was a response to both the smashing of Life on Mars’ window and a public service message of support during the covid crisis. Part owner of Life on Mars/KEXP DJ John Richards spoke the words “you are not alone” while broadcasting during Covid-19. Photography by Austin Wilson.

 

This mural was also featured in Viral Murals. Published by Chatwin Books, 2020.

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.

 

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.

 

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.