L a C: mtl hfx love affair

www.beyonce.com

(Source: Kaye Blegvad)

Photo by Gordon Parks

Helen Frankenthaler, Indian summer, 1966

Helen Frankenthaler Canyon 1965 Phillips Collection

This summer I was a student in a community-run Latinx Feminisms course, and was given opportunity to guest lecture on labour, community, and the body as it effects the latinx diaspora. The class raised a lot of questions about the politics of caring, and the role of the self in relationships, whether it is in a workplace or in the community. This is particularly relevant in a culture where working, and its ostensible rewards, are valued above all else, including mental and physical health, social bonds, justice, and so on. How can we cope with living in a society where certain types of lives, particularly those that have been systematically oppressed, are considered unimportant, unlistenable, or replaceable? The psychic tolls of living these lives demands a regiment of self-valuation, self-desire, and self-importance, most easily accessible through the practice of self-care. I wanted to share these slides in the hopes of generating a dialogue on how latinx communities, and communities of colour more broadly, can decolonize practices and spaces of care.   

Sheath 1, oil on canvas, 18″ x 24″, 2015

Brendan Austin

Photocollage and paint 8 x 9 7/8 inches (20.4 x 25.1 cm)