Titled after a line from Simon and Garfunkel’s song America , “Michigan seems like a dream to me now”, this series of portraits explores Michigan as a microcosm of a deeply divided nation. Since the 2016 election, I’ve painted people from across the state, inviting each sitter to share their hopes, fears, beliefs, and motivations, including how and why they voted.
Each portrait is part of a larger narrative about identity, belonging, and fracture in contemporary America. y aim is to create a layered portrait of Michigan, a state that contains so many of the tensions and dreams of the country as a whole.
