PSI Relacional asked me to adapt this wonderful project for an exhibition in Lisbon.

The author Donna Bassin initiated portrait collaborations with individuals who felt marginalized after the 2016 American presidential election, asking them to use pose, gesture, and gaze to visually assert their identity and express their emotional truths. 

Some sitters reclaimed and reimagined the American flag to express their defiance and respectful hope for the return of democracy. The portraits share a black velvet background and chiaroscuro lighting, joining each individual in the collective. 

The artist channelled the injuries brought on by the pandemic and erosion of democracy, creating "wounds" on the portraits and restoring them with stitching and golden rice paper inspired by the Japanese practice of Kintsugi. The Kintsugi metaphor honors the acceptance of injury and transforms the wounds into social justice.