No Es Una Pistola

This piece is my take on René Magritte’s The Treachery of Images — more commonly known as “This Is Not a Pipe.” Magritte used simple imagery to point out the disconnect between words and what they represent, pushing viewers to question how we define reality.

With No Es Una Pistola, I’m challenging the viewer in a similar way. We have a skewed understanding of the reality of gun violence in this country — in our states, cities, neighborhoods, schools, and even our own homes. I’m not here to point fingers or spark a debate. I just wish we could speak about things as they truly are, without twisting the truth or pretending reality isn’t reality. Pretending things are ok and burying the pain deep down never works, that sh*t always always ends up resurfacing.