Artwork / 2025
In 2025, my art was a mixture of beauty and anger, much like the first time the Liar-in-Chief came to power in the United States. The difference is that my 2017 portraits of Trump ended up on a book cover and in Newsweek as opposed to on the street like this one.
Protesting Trump’s government with his face as well as with images of individuals who oppose his cruel policies helped me see my skill for capturing a likeness in a new way. After reflecting on celebrity portraiture and the Oscar-winner William Hurt commissioning me in 2005, I ended up embarking on a project I’ve tentatively titled Triggering History. It will include paintings and stories like these ones depicting Fannie Lou Hamer and James Baldwin, but, at the moment, I’m focused on finding an institutional partner who could help me turn this series into a collaboration. Please feel free to share my project proposal with any institutional connections you may have who you think might be interested.
In the meantime, sending that proposal to Mural Arts Philadelphia didn’t earn me a partner for the project, but it did get me work. Over the course of five intense weeks in November and December 2025, I made three artworks for 52 Weeks of Firsts: one about the Philadelphia Zoo, one about a 1790 design for a steamboat, and one about the First Continental Congress. The 52 Weeks of Firsts public art exhibition is on display throughout Philadelphia in 2026.
At the beginning 2025, on inauguration day and in direct protest to Trump’s reascension to the presidency, I released a 13th anniversary edition of Crime Against Nature. It comes with a new preface detailing my journey with this project as well as 2025’s challenges to our enduring queerness.
The print version of Crime Against Nature is available for $35 in paperback or $45 in hardcover. These prices do not include shipping or tax, which will be calculated by Lulu, the service that prints and ships the book. You can download the e-book for free or for a suggested donation of $8.