My latest work for A Presidential Parody, Hail Spray Tan, was made under the truest digital dystopian duress that is 2020. It began as a phone booth ad takeover, a solo work from creation through install, made during the last days of my mom’s life, as virtual vigils and FaceTime goodbyes (followed by my dear mother’s zoom funeral), took place in the background.
Grieving is isolating to begin with, grieving during a pandemic makes it even more so. I imagine there’s a group of us from 2020, that deeply understand what it means to have a FaceTime goodbye, with the person you love most. 2020 has consumed so many of us with grief, whether it was loss of a loved one, or loss of employment, loss of ability to socialize the way we used to, even loss of the way we used to be able to hug, and most importantly, the loss of basic human rights. Watching the 45 debacle unfold during these last 4 years, and now during a pandemic, has been too next level. It was more important than ever to get out the vote. So I created a funeral march, to honor my mom and the many other lives tragically lost under the reign of 45, because it’s time for the Demon Cheeto to go.
Photo documentation by Lois Stavsky from Street Art NYC.