In a time of death and unrest amid a brutal pandemic, Tim McFarlane wondered if his art was enough.
He was a Black artist during a period when the social and political upheaval of the times demanded commentary. If his swirling abstract images weren’t representational depictions of the period’s pain and anxiety, was he fulfilling his responsibility as a Black artist?
His answer, in the densely packed and saturated paintings he created to portray the uncertainty and angst of the times, was yes.
“It almost felt like you took a step and there were a thousand things happening. You had news coming at you online. There was stuff happening in real-time,” McFarlane said. His art in those moments “was me trying to work through all these different levels of experiences, happening all at once.”