Laura Kina Loving Artist Statement

Inspired by the landmark 1967 Supreme Court case Loving v. Virginia that overturned this nations last anti-miscegenation law, Loving consists of nine life-sized charcoal portraits of “mixed-race” friends and acquaintances and one self-portrait. The works are hung in a meditative half circle that simultaneously embraces and confronts
the viewer.

For the Loving series, I created a minyan of individuals whose common tie is that of being multiracial. All of the figures in the Loving series are seated cross-legged, a pose that allows each individual to be centered physically and, perhaps, spiritually. Some stare directly, others lean forward as if something is about to happen, one woman has her eyes closed and is taking a deep breath. Time seems suspended. The sitters’ range in age from their 20’s to their 40’s, all rainbow children of the civil rights movement. Through the process of drawing and subtle gestures in the sitters’ poses, I wanted to capture a sense of community, the ability to connect with others and the distances between each of us.

View the installation.

Read the press release.

Loving Series: Calla Thompson Charcoal on paper 42.5 x 34 in. 2006