I was also drawn to Tulane’s Carnival Collection. The historical/mythological gardens depicted in many of the float designs caught my eye. As I learned more about the history of Mardi Gras, I couldn't help but compare the shape of these mass gatherings to the Black Lives Matter protests taking place across the world. I located my body in this context, isolated in idyllic suburban greenery, compared to the bodies in cramped prisons where Covid-19 is now running rampant. I also thought about the privilege to not think about any of this.

In a Washington Post article on quarantine gardens, Adrian Higgins suggests that the shared pause is a welcome opportunity to reconnect with nature, learn from stillness, and re-situate ourselves as part of a collective.

If You Can't Go Outward, positions the “quarantine garden” as a metaphorical space in which to complicate this narrative, by highlighting the impact that cultural stories have on encouraging inaction and silence from those distantly affected by injustice.

The series came together while exploring the repository of Tulane University's Digital Library Special Collections and participating in conversations with Kolaj Institute's Pandemic Lab participants.

While researching, I landed on The American Missionary Association Photographs (1887- 1952), to which I felt a historical connection having grown up strictly Presbyterian. I wondered, why wasn't I taught about this revolutionary history, specifically the church's connection to social justice movements?

I looked at the collection of WWII Posters by Louisiana Artists of the WPA Federal Arts Project (1940-1941). As I explored the designs I was reminded of images on I saw on social media meant to educate about Covid-19 and anti-racism. I made posters in response, using the medium of collage, which inherently references layers and complexity, although the posters in this series are meant to stand against white silence.