gives back during COVID

Do you feel like going into depth about that process is exposing that private space? Where do you feel like that line is between what you put out and what you try to keep for yourself?

I definitely talk about my process, but it’s always something that I do alone. Most recently [I] started filming time lapses just to see, but I usually don’t like people in my space while I’m working. I’m like, get out of the way! [laughs] You know, it’s just a very private way to create. I know other artists who need someone around to create because they need to bounce ideas off of people. But I think that’s something that will always remain private, whereas the work, I’m gonna put it out there and it won’t be mine anymore. It’ll be open to all these other things, but I think my creation process will always be a lot more personal.

How important is it to know your background of Afro-Latinx queerness in looking at your work?

It was a big part of The Barriers That Create Us, just talking about how different environments and experiences have shaped you, and I think I wanted to acknowledge how a lot of my experiences have shaped me. Whether it was being at a predominantly white institution, whether it be my cultural influences, racial influences, that aren’t necessarily in the work outright but definitely affect how I move through the world and how I will always process things. I think it’s always important; in no way is me not talking about race in my work [meaning] that I do not want to be acknowledged by race. It’s not as if I’m trying to edit it out by not talking about it. I just think as an Afro-Latinx queer person I don’t necessarily always have to talk about those things in order to be acknowledged as an Afro-Latinx queer artist.

Where do you see your work going in the next couple of years?

I don’t know! [laughs] I’m just trying to focus on getting my degree and wherever that goes, I will follow. I’m definitely excited for bigger, probably have more of my avatar show in my work, I really enjoy the way that people talked about him because of course my experience with him is deeply personal but how he also becomes a way for people to project themselves into the environment. You know, so I thought out of my social experiment of an art show [laughs] that was very interesting that I definitely will keep up with.

Have you thought about utilizing any different mediums or methods in the future?

Definitely interested in a lot of the above. I have a lot of classes that I’m taking in architecture, printmaking, weaving, and fibers, so I’m definitely planning on in the next couple years experimenting a lot more with surface, medium, language. I’m definitely still experimenting and not limiting myself to only one language. ¬

Roderick Sawyer is an artist, writer, and Chicago native. Sawyer occasionally contributes arts stories to the Weekly.