Jane’s Addiction guitarist Dave Navarro has partnered with Punk Rock & Paintbrushes to announce that he will be selling art prints from a recent installation in an effort to raise money to help the homeless.
The prints are from a collection called “More Government Care?” that Navarro recently displayed in New York. Said the guitarist about the project’s inspiration:
“This piece was created as an installation last year in the deep underbelly of Mana Contemporary in NYC in conjunction with Gary Lichtenstein Studios. It was conceived at the height of the border crisis conversation while facts about the treatment of the children had begun to surface — the border toilets with sinks, the cages, the filth and lack of humanity. Children were separated from their parents and the country was outraged to see such atrocities. We had created prisons of trauma… Containers that held the innocent. Nobody spoke of the lifetime of trauma these children were to face upon their eventual relocation or release.”
With what has happened in the world over the last few months, Navarro feels the piece is even more relevant than ever. His statement continues:
“Today, our immigrant population is facing an even more perilous crisis as COVID-19 has ravaged our world. Reports have suggested that our Latino communities are at higher risk and many cases go unreported due to the lack of available health care and the fear of deportation. Our undocumented are now afraid to seek help and testing, resulting in more deaths and the spreading of the virus within their communities. Our government has shown them that they have no empathy — in turn, these communities fear speaking up and being noticed. Now that we are all locked up, which is sadly ironic, our system continues to deepen the suffering of our undocumented. When this piece was done in 2019, I had hoped for it to be a commentary on a very small window in our history. Today, in 2020, it speaks with more volume.”
“More Government Care” will be available as a limited-edition 16″x20″ archival giclee print on 320 gsm cold press paper with archival inks. Limited to 100 prints at $100 a piece, each one is individually signed and numbered by Navarro.
Proceeds from the sale of the prints will go to The Sidewalk Project, an organization that “betters the lives of the houseless.” Their goal during the COVID-19 pandemic is to secure food, as well as provide “education and kits that focus on strengthening the immune system, hygiene/hand washing, face masks and NARCAN harm reduction” for those out on the street who need it. The organization has worked with and in support of “dedicated organizations” to get more than 600 masks to those on the frontlines and the houseless who are more vulnerable to the virus.
Punk Rock Paintbrush/ The sidewalk Project founder Emily T. Nelson comments on Navarro’s involvement:
“Working with Dave has been such a positive experience as we support his efforts in changing the world through his art and making an impact on those that are listening and watching. Dave has a mission with his art, and through his personal experiences these are truly seen in this work. We are very grateful to work with such a driven artist who can see the larger picture in why art can truly bring us together.”
The prints are available on the Punk Rock & Paintbrushes website right now.
