(b. 1993, Lahore, Pakistan) Usama Khalid is a custodian of the phonk. His chief concern lies with paintings and drawings but he is always a raring to do a sculpture or two or maybe an instillation if you be so kind. He received a BFA from UTA and has been featured in New American Paintings. His work mostly deals with immigrant identity, alienation, loss, information, and often times explores the connections between his native abode Pakistan and the United States and their similarities and differences. By exploring this relationship he hopes to inform his spectators and patrons of the beauty in the world at large and the closeness between peoples.

if you want a revolution

return to your childhood

and kick out the bottom

 

dont mistake changing

headlines for changes

 

if you want freedom

dont mistake circles

for revolutions

 

think in terms of living

and know

you are dying

& wonder why

 

if you want a revolution

learn to grow in spirals

always being able to return

to your childhood

and kick out the bottom

 

This is what ive been

trying to say—if you

attack the structure—

the system—the establishment

you attack yourself

KNOW THIS!

& attack if you must

challenge yourself externally

 

but if you want a revolution

return to your childhood

& kick out the bottom

 

be able to change

yr own internal chemistry

walk down the street

& flash lights in yr head

at children

 

this is not a game

your childhood

is the foundation

of the system

 

walk down the street

flash lights in yr head

at children but be wary

of anyone old enough to kill

 

learn how to disappear

 

before they can find you

 

(that is, if you want to

stay alive)

 

if you want a revolution

do it "together"

but dont get trapped in

words or systems

 

people are people

no matter what politics

color or words they use

& they all have children

buried in their head

 

if you want a revolution

grow a new mind

& do it quietly

if you can

 

return to your childhood

and kick out the bottom

then become a being

not dependent on words

for seeing

 

whenever you get bored

change headlines

colors politics words

change women

 

but if you really want

a revolution

learn how to change

your internal chemistry

then go beyond that

 

walk down the streets

& flash light at

yourself

 

                       ~D A Levy

Tombstone as a Lonely Charm (Part 3)

(b.1985, Dallas, Texas) Wester is an interdisciplinary artist with a B.A. in Computing and the Arts from Yale University. Formerly a competitive figure skater for TeamUSA, Wester's visual arts practice focuses on movement, feedback systems, and perception through performance, metal sculpture, audio-visual projections, paintings, and printmaking work. Her pieces are often referential to fascinations and sensations from her life on ice as a skater and her personal experiences with injury, ego, and identity.

(b.1996, Los Angeles, California) Olivia Arratia is a photographer residing in Dallas, Texas. She received her AA from DCCCD Brookhaven and her BFA in Photography and Business from Texas Woman's University. Olivia’s focus is on alternative photographic prints, sculpture, and book art. Her work engages in the social, cultural, and religious aspects of Hispanic culture, as well as the design elements of where she was born and raised in Southern California. Olivia seeks to understand herself and her heritage better through the research of her personal origins and those who have come before her.

(b. 1991, Kathmandu, Nepal) Niva Parajuli is an experimental painter who aims to push the boundaries of painting by using non-conventional materials. His paintings often step over the boundaries of drawing and sculpture. With his paintings, he tries to highlight the phenomenon of migration, acculturation, domesticity and rituals. His paintings are heavily driven by experimentation and the processes involved. Born and raised in Kathmandu, Nepal, Niva moved to the US to pursue formal art education and training in 2012. He earned his BFA in Painting from University of Texas at Arlington in 2020 and has been actively exhibiting his work in the greater Dallas-Fort Worth area.