byron taylor studio
legacy series




       

This is what keeps me awake at night, reflecting on the world we're leaving our children. As of January 27th, 2016, when the Gun Control piece was finished we'd had 847 gun deaths since the first of the year (http://www.gunviolencearchive.org/)
This piece will be radically altered when I got it back from the "Art in Politics" exhibit at Touchstone Gallery in Washington DC. The father of the child, who was present and gave his blessing when we did the initial photoshoot, sent the gallery and me cease and desist orders to stop showing the painting, to "protect his child from Second Amendment assassins."

The endless persecution of Planned Parenthood and local efforts to further legislate abortion and women's health inspired the second. This painting raised a bit of controversy on Facebook when I entered in into the ALA Spring Show. The Arkansas Times did an online feature on it, and everything was resolved in the end, although it didn't get an award in the show.
Since that episode, it has been brought to my attention that this could also represent the Luxury Tax on women's "sanitary items." Although that was not my initial idea, I welcome it as an interpretation.

Legacy III reflects the plight of women and the poor in the workplace - it is subtitled, "Income Inequality - Poverty Wage."

I have several more concepts for paintings - human trafficking, fossil fuels/pollution, legal drug addiction, body shaming, and species extinction for a start. A far cry from what I usually paint, but things I feel strongly about. I'm sure that, as time goes on, I'll come up with others.

• all images © Byron Taylor