Sarah Gould

Ancestry: Kamilpa Yakama / Wallowa Nimiipuu
Based In: Seattle, WA
Email: sarah.gould.2000@gmail.com
Social Media: @yes.scar

About the Art
This is a portrait of my friend Jazkia; it features her from the waist up standing in front of an unseen window with squares of sunlight reaching over her face, body, and background. This artwork loosely and softly recreates Jazkia's image with an almost green monochrome palette so that her face and its expression can be emphasized. The detailed lighting is meant to show that she can look out onto a warm, sunny world, but she remains physically indoors, looking only. This is meant to reflect current times with coronavirus and the isolating restraint it takes to practice safety for the self and others: it is an expression of patience to practice safety in a global pandemic, just as it is an act of love and compassion.

About the Artist
My name is Sarah (she/her, Kamilpa Yakama/Wallowa Nimiipuu), and I'm a sophomore at the University of Washington. I grew up in Lapwai, Idaho and Goldendale, Washington, the home regions of both of my parents, and I was tied to the expanse of my ancestral homelands. I moved to Seattle last year, and I have found that my connection to my homes, the space I occupy, and the hearts I live alongside remain strong wherever I am physically. Because of where I am, I was able to make many friends since my first year, and those true, loving connections are my greatest accomplishment, my finest works. My visual art is mostly traditional, and I paint with watercolor, goauche, and acrylic paints when I'm not just doodling with whatever pen. I find inspiration in the love I experience myself and through the stories carried from generations past to today.

Sunlight

acrylic on canvas board, 2020

When it comes to being a good ancestor in a pandemic, while also confronting the settler colonial state, people are being pushed into online spaces in search of laughter, love, and safety. One such person is someone named Jazkia, who I might have never "met" if not for safety protocols. She lives far from me in a world unlike my own, but she has been one of the better parts of a globally traumatic time. Jazkia embodies the kind of beauty I want to posess: she holds a tender, kind heart, the kind that requires a great power.