Located at MaTovu, in Botanical Heights.
Complicity & Witness
Diya Abbas
August– October 2024
Surviving capitalism means being a gear in the machine of empire. “Getting through”, barely paying rent, counting dollars at the grocery store, no matter how grueling these modes of survival, directly fund the imperialism machine to annihilate communities and cultures abroad. What distinguishes the value of our life from theirs besides position? Every day all I can do is live in this hex. The least we can do is be aware of this consciousness. The fabric of our minds is also a weapon. Lies and misinformation skew reality.
What reality do you choose?
About
Diya Abbas is a first generation Pakistani poet from the Midwest. Her poems are featured or forthcoming in RHINO, Foglifter, Adroit, diode, The Offing, BAHR Magazine, and others. They were named the 2020 St.Louis Youth Poet Laureate, 2022 George B. Hill Poetry Prize, 2023 Lorine Niedecker Poetry Awardee and the 2024 Lyman S.V. Judson Awardee in the Creative Arts. She is currently studying Creative Writing and South Asian Studies at the University of Wisconsin Madison through the First Wave program. Find more of their work at diyabbas.com.
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Funding for this installation was provided, in part, by the National Academy of Design/Edwin Austin Abbey Memorial Trust Fund for Mural Painting in the United States.