When I first began to go gray — I dyed my hair. Like many others before me, I thought I could conceal the salt scattered into my pepper. The unruly gray hairs arrived on the scene fast and furiously. Augh! Hair is my artistic medium; therefore, I began to ponder the creative and intriguing possibilities. Below are images of the first hair drawing I have completed by sewing with my gray hair. Interestingly, some hairs are totally gray from end to end while others are in mid process of changing.
Here is the video of the Durango Diaries panel focusing on artists. I specifically spoke about my ‘hair drawings’. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYeuUKIpLEU
The “Burden Hat” made its debute at my exhibition “nevertheless: She Persisted” @ the Durango Arts Center. My exhibition focused on the theme of gender-based burdens. It spoke about burdens which disproportionately impact women such as poverty, domestic violence, body image and political inequality. In my artworks, some of the women carry organic forms on their heads. The organic forms are inspired by the rock formations at the Bisti Badlands south of Farmington, NM. Those same rock formations later served as inspiration for the “burden hat”. If one could give visual form to their psychological burdens, what would they look like in the abstract? This is how the “burden hat” evolved. I used it as part of my costume for my spoken word performance at the Durango Arts Center in March 2, 2018.
“No country can ever truly flourish if it stifles the potential of its women and deprives itself of the contributions of half of its citizens” First Lady Michelle Obama.
The title of this exhibition “nevertheless: She Persisted” refers to a phrase by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. In defense of silencing Senator Elizabeth Warren, McConnell said, ““Sen. Warren was giving a lengthy speech. She had appeared to violate the rule. She was warned. She was given an explanation. Nevertheless, she persisted.” Subsequently, the phrase was embraced on social media and became a battle cry for women across the U.S. in 2017. Women did not want to be told — to sit down and stop talking.
The works in this exhibition are grouped into categories to reflect gender-based burdens. These are hardships disproportionately shouldered by women in society. These gender-based burdens include gender-based violence, political inequality and gender-based-poverty. This weight hauled by women can have a palpable physical existence or take on a psychological shape of enormous proportions. Many women live day-to-day hindered by gender-based burdens; yet, they continue to persist.
The goal of “nevertheless: She Persisted” is to raise awareness of gender-based burdens. By fore-fronting gender-based burdens, inequities surrounding violence, poverty and politics and their impact on women can continue to be highlighted and discussed. Ongoing visibility of these issues is a necessity in order for change to occur – whether it manifests in small steps or larger advancements.
I attended the 8th Annual International Conference on The Image in Venice, Italy from October 31-November 1, 2017. I presented a paper titled “Heaviness, Hardship, Heft: Gender-based Burdens in Images”. I also participated in the Pop-up Exhibition at Venice International University. Here are some images from my experience in Venice at the conference.
“Carry This Burden, Now and Till the Moment of Your Last Breath” is on view now at ARC Gallery, 2156 N. Damen Ave., Chicago. It is a wall drawing installation composed of conte on wall, specialty fabric mounted on vinyl. The exhibit continues until September 23rd. 
Rosemary Meza-DesPlas 