This painting was included in Marking Time: Art in the Age of Incarceration, 2020, MoMA PS1, New York, curated by Nicole Fleetwood.
I was incarcerated in Arapahoe County Detention Facility when COVID hit. It was like nothing anyone had ever seen or experienced. There was no protocol. Everyone—staff, inmates, our loved ones in the free world— were confused and fearful. Over a thousand years ago during the bubonic plague people prayed to Saint Sebastian who serves as God’s intercessor and safeguard against plague and ailments. The arrows to his body represent the ills he sustains for humanity while he looks to the heavens imploring God for mercy upon us. He stands on an island. Beneath him is the ocean, lands and cities of the earth. I brought him back into circulation during those trying times to keep our loved ones safe from harm and to ease our worries.
