#art-activism

#art-activism

An artist has used the Harry Potter books to make portraits of transgender women who have been murdered. Artist Tai Ericson, who lives in the US state of Vermont, began deconstructing the books to create the artworks in protest at JK Rowling's views on trans people. The Human Rights Campaign tracked the deaths of at least 32 trans and gender-expansive people who were victims of violence in 2024.

"While no single person is to blame, it's clear that institutional fear shaped by a broader climate of political hostility toward trans lives played a role. This painting exists to hold space for someone whose humanity has been politicised and disregarded."

Draped in vivid red fabric, the statues of Peter Burnett, William Gwin, and Francis Scott Key are transformed into ghostly silhouettes, haunting the underbelly of the Golden Gate Bridge. The striking red shrouds symbolize alarm, violence, and the systemic White supremacy that underpins their legacies.

I wish Corita Kent's work had already done its work, that the world was free of oppression, racism, inequality, chaos and fear.