Art Under Empire: Oree Originol
The Art Under Empire series explores the importance of staying engaged with our artistic/creative endeavors in these precarious times, and why art matters now more than ever! Each featured radical creative answers the same ten questions about the intersection of art, politics and the personal, sharing insights on how and why they stick with it...and why you should, too.
1. Name, pronouns, location, creative medium
Oree Originol
He/Him
Oakland, CA
Mixed media (digital art, acrylic painting, screen printing, spray paint stencil)
2. Why is art important during times of political upheaval/community in crisis?
In times of political upheaval / community in crisis, people become more susceptible to information that speaks to the conditions that they are experiencing. Art has the ability to empower an individual by communicating information but also by evoking emotion. Information and emotion are vital resources that are generated from art, and if it is used to impact the political landscape, then it can have a profound effect on the future. Through art we can record history and defy erasure, promote solidarity, imagine alternative realities, and as a practice in general it keeps us human.
When I was producing 'Justice For Our Lives’ (2014-2020), I realized that my portraits helped facilitate solidarity between several families / community members that were affected by police killings throughout the Bay Area. The black and white portraits with bold outlines became instantly recognizable and when displayed, gave out the “bat signal” indicating resistance against police terror that connected one struggle to another. Several groups united in support of each other and their deceased loved ones like Alex Nieto, Luis Gongora Part, Amilcar Perez Lopez, Agustin Gonzalez, Sean Monterossa, etc. using my art as the visual backdrop that gave visibility and support to their collective cause. My art project was able to record historical moments of police terror in the USA and promote lasting solidarity between communities during a time of political upheaval / community in crisis.
