Liabilities emerged from the charged emotions of the early pandemic in 2020. Fear of the unknown was coupled with the awareness that our individual actions carried collective consequences—that we bore an innate responsibility to protect one another. The widespread disregard for these realities was profoundly frustrating to me, particularly as someone who had lived through the AIDS epidemic and felt deeply triggered by parallels of denial and neglect. With that history, I felt an acute sense of responsibility to do what I could to mitigate harm.
The title speaks to the eventual accountability of those who acted carelessly. Visually, the work embodies this tension: a seemingly bright and optimistic palette contrasts with chaotic mark-making, while a small yellow passage offers a glimmer of hope. For me, the piece holds the duality of that time, oscillating between frustration and a persistent, if fragile, hope.