‘Feelin Good in Oakland 2017’ (Collaboration with Victoria Ayala)

This art piece is dedicated to honoring the phases or extensions of life that connect us to our past and present through the elements found in the Oakland community as well as in art. Symbols such as the skeletons and butterflies actively recall to our awareness the ephemeral nature of each stage. The roots that emerge from the skeletons that dance (as if merging from the coast live oak trees) serve to remind us of and to honor our inherent connection to our land. The Bay Area flows out of the trumpet as a blue stream of water between two lands with a boat while a train - honoring the West Pacific Railroad- emerges from the music, as a painter crowned with flowers recalls the flow that ushers in life and migration- themes that have marked and enriched the history and community of Oakland.

The musical notes floating out on either side of the Bay play 'Feeling Good' by Nina Simone, as a tribute to new life, as well as the embrace of change and transitions. All of the life of Oakland is represented by creation of art and dance that (re)ignite skeletons grounded in celebration and tradition at the bottom of the artwork.