ART SCRIM is a temporary outdoor gallery program that highlights local artists by turning construction fencing around Barry’s Corner into a platform for sharing art. ART SCRIM builds on other Zone 3 programs like Walls on Western and Art in Print, continuing a commitment to the creative community and energizing the streetscape along the Western Ave corridor.
EACH AND NONE
APRIL 2022
Artwork by Anna Dugan / @annadidathing
ON VIEW NEXT TO THE GROVE ON ACADEMIC WAY
Each and None is a portrait series covering both the fence and jersey barriers below, that pays homage to people like the artist who can spend a lifetime searching for a true sense of belonging. Artist, Anna Dugan, wanted to create a series that expresses the difficulties and the beauty that comes with the merging of multiple cultural experiences.
This concept takes visual inspiration from printmaking and folk art to create images that have layered complexities, allowing viewers to discover more details the longer they look. Each image uses two colors with black to reveal a striking portrait. Each person depicted is someone in the artists’ life that either lives in a diaspora or experiences life as a mixed race person.
The limited color palette per portrait reflects the ways a person can feel while living in a diaspora, two cultures or experiences that don’t necessarily overlap, but exist side by side to reveal a complete person.
This concept is an exploration in what it feels like to not be wholly accepted into one culture or the other, but the absence of either would make each person incomplete. In printmaking, the way an image is made is either by carving a shape into a material or by carving a shape out of a material. This is another way the work reflects the nuances of a mixed race experience, some of which are carved into you while others you carve out for yourself. And a lot of the time when you are a mixed race person or someone who is living in a diaspora, it is easy to feel like you belong fully to each culture and neither culture at the same time. We straddle a faint sense of belonging somewhere in the middle. And these multitudes of experience are what make us a whole human being.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Anna Dugan, also known as mural artist Annadidathing, is a mixed race Filipino American artist based in Salem, MA. Anna graduated with a BFA from UMass Lowell in 2013. She discovered a love of public art in 2017 and has not looked back since. Anna truly believes in the power of public art to impact our shared spaces and weave emotional bonds within diverse communities. She uses public art to engage with our communities, contribute to the accessibility of public art, and carve out more representation for Filipinos in the public art scene. Anna’s work is vibrant, bold, and joyful. She uses a strong eye for color, intricate linework, and storytelling to create art that evokes a sense of empowerment. Anna’s artwork is heavily influences by her Filipino culture and the nuanced experiences as a mixed race person.
ARTIST Q&A
Where else can we find your work?
You can see what I am currently working on through instagram. But my work is sprinkled across MA and beginning to expand past New England, which is super exciting!
Where is your favorite public art piece in the area?
I love Sophie Tuttle’s Interconnected mural. It is such an impressive and impactful mural. Something to aspire to for sure!
What is the biggest lesson you’ve learned about doing public art projects around Boston?
We are VERY weather-dependent here and I have pushed the limits of what can be done in the heat, harsh cold, humidity, etc. I have learned a lot about respecting mother nature and the limitations she places on what can be done.
What is your dream mural project?
My dream mural project would be to paint a mural in the Philippines. I would love to spend a month or two hopping around to the different islands and painting murals for the different communities around the country.
Who is your favorite Boston-area artist to follow?
There are so many amazing artists here! I love following Silvia Lopez Chavez. Her work is so inspiring and the connections she makes to the communities she paints in is something I aspire to!
Where do you draw inspiration from?
My filipino culture, the power of community, and my lived experience as a mixed race person.
What have you learned about your creative practice in recent years?
I have learned that in order to produce my best work, I need to come from a place of authenticity. To be able to do that I need to do a lot of self-reflective work. When I work on myself as a person, I am able to more clearly use my voice. I think that seeing work that comes from a genuine place, even if the work does not speak to you specifically, is powerful. Especially in a day and age where it is so easy to fall into a trap of creating work based on what gets engagement on social media channels. I have been able to understand that not every artwork is for everyone. And that is not only okay, but necessary to create a more authentic, equitable, and diverse public art world.
