Dean Dempsey

Bio

I was born in Tucson, Arizona and come from a working-class Mexican-American family. Much of my work is centered on discussions of labor, race, class, and their relationship to social justice. I currently work at a non-profit in the Mission District where I tutor Latino/a youth in both the arts and schoolwork. My most recent exhibitions were “Frybread and Roses, 2006,” a traveling group exhibition on the topic of Native Americans and labor; “Regeneration, 2007,” a group show on resistance and community autonomy; and the “Diversity Project, 2007,” an online group exhibition of works exploring our ideas of diversity.

Statement

These works share the common theme of social struggle, freedom, labor, and resistance. As in "Bio-Terrorism," I examine the effects the Free Trade Act of the Americas has on farmers and working people. The image is that of fifty-year-old Lee Kyang Hae of the Korean Farmer's Organization, who stabbed himself at an anti-FTAA protest in 2003 as a symbolic gesture of the devastating effects the FTAA has on Korean farmers. In "Three Towers," I place the translucent image of smokestacks in front of a mirror and light to provoke the viewer in thinking of her/his role in global warming and the environment. In "A Cup of Tea," I use the format of a light box with appropriated images and audio to confront militarism. This piece aims to contrast the pleasant, heroic perspective of U.S. military propaganda (via audio), with the images of those who are victims to war and live in occupied territories. Through these works, and much of my work, I aim to remove myself as the subject and put forth a medium that challenges the comfort zones of art, working toward social justice and giving recognition to those whose experiences are not encompassed in the confines of the "art community."