As a temporary community installation, the goal of “Intersections” aims to highlight the intersections between Derecho, Black Lives Matter, climate justice, the 2020 Presidential Election and COVID, using the framework of intersectionality coined by Kimberlé Crenshaw. The mural itself was created from the fallen trees and wreckage from Derecho and existed as an addition to a metal awning outside of Reliable Street in Ames.
Branches and stumps were collected from those by Derecho and the Ames community landfill and were sawed, sanded, and drilled to become wooden disks. These disks were available at a community making event hosted by the Ames chapter of Black Lives Matter. As the head graphic designer for the organization and organizer of the event, I prompted individuals to write, draw, burn, paint, or affect the disk with any message of hope, warning, etc.
“Intersections” served as a visual artifact of 2020 and the way residents of Ames, IA have been affected by the systems that have created land hurricanes, an uncontrollable pandemic, failed and unempathetic leadership, and a resurgence to fight for human rights and Black lives through the dismantling of racist and inequitable structures.
