This piece is inspired by the rallying cry from the Lawrence textile strike de 1912 “We want bread, but we want roses, too!” While bread is the symbol of fundamental human survival, we place rosas first inverting any hierarchy for the modern context: we want our roses the same as we need our bread. Let there be no confusion as to who deserves human rights, no cómo ni cuándo. It is all of us targeted communities and it is now. Lesser known is that the strike of 1912 was not defeated, though not without violence, and was organized almost exclusively by women + immigrant workers. When we stand unides in the face of oppression, we rise con las rosas en mano.

queremos rosas, hand carved linoleum, relief print 40 x 39.5”, first edition printed in 2018; second edition, 2021