Using speculative fiction, Abolitionist Elder (2020) is a futuristic self-portrait depicting the creation of a new society: one in which prisons, ICE, police, and other vestiges of colonization, militarization, and enslavement no longer exist. This piece was created after the police murder of Mr. George Floyd on May 25, 2020 and the burning of the 3rd precinct in Minneapolis on May 28, 2020. Told through the legacy of Hmong (Hmoob/Moob) story cloths, my elder self uses needle and thread to record acts of transformative rage and community care that may lead us to abolitionist futures.
Abolitionist Elder has been adapted and published with the Minneapolis Institute of Art, AAPI Civic Engagement Fund, the University of Minnesota’s Women Center, and the Abolition Journal (forthcoming, Spring 2022).