Digital America interviewed Lu Gibson in November 2023 on her piece Making sense of what pieces were left.
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Digital America: “Making sense of what pieces were left” (2023) is a piece that covers socio-historical themes, technology, colonialism, labor exploitation, food ways, and autonomy—and how the United States is lacking in these areas. How do you hope that “Making sense of what pieces were left” will influence viewers to rethink their livelihoods and the systems we live in today?
Lu Gibson: I wouldn’t say that the U.S. is necessarily “lacking” in these issues existing, colonialism and fighting for freedom domineer and persist here too. Big tech and labor exploitation are major parts of living here just as companies extracting raw minerals and who subsist on child labor in Congo and Niger rule. We are privileged having more stuff and access to things, we’re in closer proximity to the powers reaping all of the stuff, and still, the majority of us do not have what we need. In other words, this place is also ugly and frustrating and beautiful for the same reasons!
With what has happened to Gaza is a widespread movement that hasn’t really been seen since 2020. The writing is, has been on the wall, but now suddenly everyone is actually trying to read it, and a lot more are finding out how connected global systems of oppression and decolonial struggle are. The next question to that is, how willing and ready are people to get serious about it?
DigA: Each item in “Making sense of what pieces were left” caught my attention with an immense layering of the objects. Each time I looked at a composite, I found another object or detail I’d previously missed. Each image is intentionally placed, and this intentionality and artisty almost confronts the medium: Microsoft PowerPoint. Can you talk about your decision to use PowerPoint and your process choosing and layer images?
LG: It’s a pretty basic program, which has its limitations, but even if I’m unable to do everything, like blurring an edge, or have limited color options available, I still find ways to work around it.
I have been sourcing the images I use from public search engines, mainly DuckDuckGoGo and other secure alternatives to Google. For this project, I use transparent images, but for more recent designs, I have been sourcing some photos from news reports. Crediting your sources that are other peoples’ work is important, especially since I am looking to sell physical prints.
DigA: Does your background in education help influence and inspire your artistic processes both in “Making sense of what pieces were left” and in other works?
LG: I like storytelling and think part of why I chose to make digital collages has been because of my own study: I think visuals can help people understand theory, which helps to ground it in reality. Not everyone wants to or has to read these things, so I think it helps make it more accessible, and incorporating images and things that people recognize, like food and animals and tools, things that mean things to us personally, can help better illustrate how real and relevant liberation and oppression are to where we are living and dying.
DigA: You want your work to open a conversation into the “ancestral lineage and resistance illuminating the link between Black resistance histories in the U.S. Deep South and the Caribbean.” What artists, musicians, activists, etc. do you draw inspiration from in this space?
LG: I’m shouting out Ben Passmore (@daygloahole), whose comics cover so much Black revolutionary history that’s not amplified enough. Another one goes to @apocalypticcca too, who also makes gorgeous collages and runs a Patreon covering New Afrikan praxes, histories, and the future that’s in store. As for books, Cedric Robinson’s “Black Marxism”, and Celeste Winton’s new book “How the Lose the Hounds: Maroon Geographies and a World beyond Policing.” are both solid. As for media, I like “Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure” and the new “Castlevania” series.
DigA: What are you currently working on?
LG: Right now, I am working on more collages to print for the holidays, and just trying to stay alive!
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Check out Lu Gibson’s piece Making sense of what pieces are left.
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Lu Gibson is a writer and digital collage artist from Philadelphia, PA. They received a bachelor’s degree from Temple University’s Department of Africology and African American Studies in 2020. While currently working in retail, they started their current project, Making sense of what pieces were left (2023) as a creative outlet, which evolved into a robust long-term project.
