D Branchaud had her first solo exhibtion at Arts for ACT in Fort Myers, FL in October 2014. The show was titled “Disparate Forces”, to reflect the conflict between the external and the internal, and how those forces affect each other in our day-to-day lives.
For the first time since that display, the artist shares with you the narratives and poetry that corresponded to each piece that was shown, some of which were created specifically to reflect the theme of Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and the purpose for ACT (Abuse Counseling Treatment).
Transition refers to a time of change; the evolution of mankind has come to a point where we have the choice to move forward unified by compassion and commonality. Or we can choose to ignore the change, to remain stubborn gripping onto arcane and irrelevant perceptions of the world. There is a promise of a new generation with open minds and hearts; that sees the change and embraces it, understanding that it is something necessary. Among them are embodiments of change itself, resisting the status quo to become more complete human beings. Transition is aiming to become what you were meant to be, by following your instincts and disregarding societal standards. There is immense courage in this act. A courage that should be revered and respected, not shunned or protested. Yet here we still witness new acts of hate and violence against those who try to change; those who are innately different from others. Transition occurs in the knowing and feeling that you were intended to be all or nothing at all, and then taking steps toward transcendence. Then you become more than just your sex, race, or culture. You become more than your job, your bank account, your house, your social circle. You become more than the judgments that have been made against you.
You become you, a child of nature and a member of the human race.
There is no creature capable of so much as man. We are built with the right foundations, the will to evolve and become more than we ever thought possible. We have touched the sky and beyond in search of knowledge and expanding our horizons and territories, and yet we cannot progress as a species enough to find true peace with each other and with the environment we have so readily exploited. There has never been greater need for a reminder that we are a part of a delicate and extraordinary cycle; we exist alongside the flora, fauna, animals and earth. The stone we build our castles upon has its own story to tell, and we ignore it for the sake of economics.
Transition presents the change. It is the realization of these possibilities and then the steps taken to make them happen, embracing change and evolution.
We connect then and transcend to be embodiments of nature and compassion and peace.
Your world is burning. It is time to listen to the voice within. The one who has cried out to you for so long. The one who has been aware of the signs and exits as you passed them by. The one who knows you are running out of time. Your world is burning. It is time to act. No more complacency.
If you need to seek change, then do so. The only one standing in your way is you. To do nothing is futile.
Buried is the woman who allows herself to be subjugated. As if it is a matter of allowance—we are only what we’re taught to be. How is it that we still fight these battles? Man does not necessarily equate beast. Yet man has the power to end the cycle of violence or to continue to perpetuate it. Man labels himself with his actions. The man who hits his wife is beast. The man who imbibes alcohol until incomprehensible and scolds his children is beast.
We transpose onto our daughters the concept of fear. Fear the stranger, the hooded figure in the shadows, the footsteps that follow you across the pavement at night. Then we neglect to acknowledge the legitimacy of fearing the familiar. Fear the boyfriend, the husband, the father, the brother, the uncle and the friend. Worse yet we do not consider the reverse. We do not teach boys to fear the women. To fear their mothers, their teachers, their friends. Though we are plenty fearful. Fear hasn’t stopped the cycle. We are already developing into a culture of paranoia and distrust. Yet we witness each day new accounts of violence inflicted on our children, the women, the weak.
How is it that we humans can call ourselves dignified when we subject each other to such violence? We bury each other alive under the weight of subjugation until our throats are clogged and our lungs fill with dirt. No one is innocent anymore. Even the most delicate flower has its thorns.
Patience on the human scale of activity is a virtue over the violent response to provocation that is typical in us.
On the scale of great tracks of time on earth, Nature may be awarded with the greatest patience when it comes to the activity which has carried life forward for 3.5 billion years. Plants were the first to conquer the land and about 350 million years ago, amphibians first crawled onto the sea shores. Their presence on land gave origin to a diversity of creatures that include a very unique mammal which appeared on the scene just 6 million years ago, us.
In our 21st century as the masters of the world, the master must once again reach to Nature to learn about life and the persistence of change as a survival strategy. Patience now becomes a survival tool, as it will take a lot of it to clean up the mess we made of the world we could not wait to conquer.
–Tiite Baquero, 2014
What is a life worth to you? This delicate, fragile thing that can be extinguished so quickly by a minute piece of metal, be it bullet or blade.
Why do we still condone the use of deadly weapons under the guise of culture when we cannot control our violent nature as a species? It is only a matter of time before the gun goes off and takes a life. Is there no room for thought of the effect a life lost has on this world; that ripple effect that spells out that a child has lost a parent or a parent has lost a child?
As life is snuffed out we remove all possibility that life contained for the future. All the things that life could have touched, examined, and changed. Some life is meant to end; death is not the futility. It is unnecessary violence that plagues us; violence against each other that could be otherwise prevented by compassion and education.
When we hurt another we change them. The essence that makes them whole is forever altered. Violence is not only physical. Humans are incredibly capable of leaving lasting emotional and mental scars, often on those who we claim to love.
This is the act of letting go…
The concept of contemporary beauty is confusing, ever changing, and impossible to emulate without the assistance of software. The idea of being scrutinized for every small detail in a person’s physical appearance is something that haunts every woman. Some are able to let it go, but then others can’t help but invent the eyes that judge them every time they walk out the door, over time developing new insecurities that prevent them from achieving higher confidence in themselves. Without confidence and security we will consistently find ourselves in destructive relationships, misfit careers and exist in lonely shadows of the world.
“Dissolve” reveals my version of truth in beauty. That this is, as they say, only skin deep. I’m once again beating the “universality of humanity” drum. We are all built the same. We are of flesh, bone, and spirit. The rest is irrelevant. True beauty lies beneath. And with such realization comes the next step toward self-actualization.
Acrylic on wood panel, 18×24″
One is guilty, of sins real and imagined.
One hopes and prays for peace.
One is lustful and greedy.
One is spiteful and scorned.
And one is the realization; her acceptance, her love, her compassion.
These disparate forces affect within and without
All to make us what we are
Human
Doubt
A shudder, a painful spark
The way it crawls up your spine
A steadily growing wound
And I can’t stop pulling at the stitches
D Branchaud Art 