Artist statement

“We Were Seeds…” is the first of a series of fantasy portraits dedicated to depicting both a likeness and the inspiration for the fantastical element. A Mexican Proverb reads, “When they buried us, they didn’t know we were seeds.” In today’s society, the assault on bodies of color is palpable and real. Our society has always known the meaning of this proverb, but its prescience is shameful. This portrait represents hope.

The wind blows through the little girls kinky hair and seeds blow from her like a dandelion. She is the representation of that proverb. She is the hope that keeps the seeds from springing up, even from being pushed into the soil. One cannot separate her from the words that inspired her.

Artist Bio

Marin Burnett, a native of New York and transplant to the Pacific Northwest, is a self-taught artist specializing in the human face and form.

Marin starting painting just after college as a form of escape and catharsis. What started as a casual hobby quickly became a passion and something that she dedicates her free time to on a daily basis. Marin works mainly in soft pastels and charcoal and works with bespoke handmade surfaces to ensure that the uniqueness of the individual and their story should be honored by the surface that holds their likeness.

Marin’s work has been featured at the Amber Tree Gallery in Washington, DC, the State House of Representatives in Maryland as well as the Hillman City Collaboratory in Seattle, WA. When she is not a consultant in her new Seattle home, or spending time with her husband and son, she is in her home studio working on prints or commissions to keep her sanity

www.marinalexisart.com