This is the largest painting I have made to date. It is emulating the arresting work of Yue Mingu. Perhaps due to his context as a modern Chinese artist living and working in a repressive society, he shies away from direct political commentary, asserting that his pieces represent “the fundamental agony of being human.” Many of his pieces depict himself, or multiples of himself, pointing in a gun-like manner while grinning fiercely. The eyes are never open, and the figures, while front and center, are emotionally distant, but we can guess that the laughter is masking pain. For me, my piece is similarly open to interpretation. The dichotomy of pink and blue may reference our oppressive binary system. The finger gun could speak to the violence-soaked gun culture that has the U.S. in a death grip. What do you think?