No Line Can Hold Me 3

14.75 x 11 inches

Collage with Lino Block & Screenprint Elements on Cotton Rag Paper.

2025

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This series of collages is about rejecting borders and binaries. It recognizes that in nature, there are no binaries—nature is interconnected.

Nature is inclusive of all gender representations. In fact, many species exhibit diverse gender expressions, and some even change genders entirely.

For example:

• Clownfish: All are born male; the dominant male can become female.

• Goby fish: Can switch between male and female multiple times.

• Slugs and snails: Often simultaneous hermaphrodites, possessing both sets of reproductive organs.

• Butterflies and insects: Some display gynandromorphism, with both male and female traits on different body parts, challenging binary classification.
  
  

In this piece, there are no defined lines around the characters. Because I was trained as a printmaker, I love using what's called the key line—a finishing line, often a black outline. My training in woodblock and linoleum block printing has taught me how essential that black line is, especially in artworks with only one or two colors. It provides clarity and strength; it holds everything together.

But in this series, I'm intentionally not using an outline. I'm doing this to emphasize what exists between the lines—to use spaciousness as a metaphor. Lines can be limiting; they can define and confine binaries. I'm interested in what happens when we remove them.

This is a small limited edition series of seven works.