Lawrence “L” Jenkins Artist Statement: Creativity cannot be confined by bars, concrete, or barbed wire. Creativity is the channel that imagination, ideas, and energy can flow fluidly above, underneath, and around the structures [prisons] that are built to contain the human being psychologically, physically, and metaphysically. I have found, in the depths of solitude -- in the pit of oppression, there is a creative outlet for thought and practice to manifest freely. Creativity -- helps us (re)possess mind, body, and soul. And when this is geared to liberation and emancipation... revolutionary things happen. This is why I'm so inspired by revolutionary visionaries, thinkers, strategists, and tacticians. Those who weren't afraid to become the tool, the resource, the opportunity, the solution to making material existence around them better. Not being afraid to imagine, to struggle, to overcome... I recently became a visual artist (in 2015). Before that, I was a creative writer, poet, and musician until my writings were used against me by the state after being accused of crimes against the police... I had a choice to self-censor and never write or voice my thoughts again, or find different forms of creative expression through different mediums on and off the canvas. The Revolutionary Minds series is my first attempt at abstract / ink portraits. And this very work has reached and moved people internationally. Typed on the bottom of each piece are titles of the individual's work that transformed my life.

Pricing Info:

Portraits - Sliding scale $30-$50 each or $150 for the set of four

Calendars - $15 (profits go to Liberation Media NW)

Martin Sostre posters - donate to LMNW and take one as a gift

Please email Gallery@makeshiftartspace.org for all pricing inquiries.

**James Baldwin** raised societal questions that many were afraid to question within themselves as individuals. Now, these same questions are being raised by the masses against the societal conditions we are being forced to live in. The flames I drew in his facial features and shirt represent the fire burning around us right now.
"Who's law, one is compelled to ask, and what order?" - James Baldwin

**Lawrence Jenkins** (he/him/his)
**"The Fire Next Time" James Baldwin**
*Sharpie Ink Pen on Smooth Bristol Paper (framed print)*
Original 9"x 12" ( selling 11"x 14.5" print)
2022
Sliding scale $30-$50
@liberationmedia_nw
liberationmedianw.org

Lawrence "L" Jenkins Bio: currently incarcerated, farmer, self taught artist, horticulture and art educator/program director, community organizer, and abolitionist. Lawrence is a co-founder/executive director of Liberation Media Northwest, an online multimedia platform founded by prisoners for prisoners and communities they are absent from but still belong to.

**Martin Sostre** was a lesser known leader whose work has impacted over 3 million prisoners' lives and those who are fighting for the human rights and freedom of all prisoners. I chose a more refined, serious, precise style to bring out Martin's sharpness, intensity, and radical resistance.
"The struggle for liberation begins with the individual whenever or wherever he or she is oppressed" - Martin Sostre
**Lawrence Jenkins** (he/him/his)
**"The New Prisoner" Martin Sostre**
*Sharpie Ink Pen on Smooth Bristol Paper (framed print)*
Original 9"x 12" ( selling 11"x 14.5" print)
2022
Sliding scale $30-$50
@liberationmedia_nw
liberationmedianw.org

Visit liberationmedianw.org and sign-up for the newsletter to stay updated with the latest efforts.

All donations can be sent to Venmo @liberationmedianw

Liberation Media Northwest (LMNW) operates as a non-profit organization, centering the work and voices of prisoners through a network of organizers working both inside and outside of prison. LMNW provides a platform for prisoners to share their writings, art, lectures, podcasts and other media. LMNW aims to create change through educating the masses and working toward the abolition of penal systems and the establishment of transformative justice practices. All donations will be used to further these goals by supporting current mutual aid efforts to support prisoners. These efforts include but aren't limited to helping prisoners access basic needs (commissary, phone time and stamps for communication), legal defense funds, re-entry support, and organizing legislative coalition meetings.

**George Jackson** was politicized after coming to prison. Through self education, he became a revolutionary theorist, writer, and organizer whose work has influenced major social movements around the world even till this day. I emphasized the eyes and incorporated elongated and enlarged shapes to symbolize the spilling of blood and sacrifice.
"We are faced with two choices: to continue as we have done for 40 years fanning our pamphlets against the hurricane, or starting to build a new revolutionary culture that we will be able to turn on the old culture." - George Jackson
**Lawrence Jenkins** (he/him/his)
**"Blood In My Eye" George Jackson**
*Sharpie Ink Pen on Smooth Bristol Paper (framed print)*
Original 9"x 12" ( selling 11"x 14.5" print)
2022
Sliding scale $30-$50
@liberationmedia_nw
liberationmedianw.org

**Malcolm X** was a very critical thinker, listener, and observer. I added critical lines and shapes to bring out this famous pose and compliment these qualities.
"Education is our passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs only to the people who prepare for it today." - Malcolm X
**Lawrence Jenkins** (he/him/his)
**"By Any Means Necessary" Malcolm X**
*Sharpie Ink Pen on Smooth Bristol Paper (framed print)*
Original 9"x 12" ( selling 11"x 14.5" print)
2022
Sliding scale $30-$50
@liberationmedia_nw
liberationmedianw.org

**Maya Angelou** was a dynamic woman who followed many of her passions. A writer, actress, dancer, singer, poet, and civil rights activist, Angelou lived a vibrant life and is recognized for her contributions to literature and for her work during the civil rights movement.
"A woman in harmony with her spirit is like a river flowing. She goes where she will without pretense and arrives at her destination prepared to be herself and only herself."

**Lawrence Jenkins** (he/him/his)
**“Maya Angelou”**
*Graphite on Smooth Bristol Paper*
11"x 14"
2023
Not for sale
@liberationmedia_nw
liberationmedianw.org

Proceeds from the sales of Revolutionary Minds Ink Portraits will go toward Lawrence's post-secondary education, legal fees, and his re-entry fund. Lawrence's re-entry plan is to start a small-scale no-till farm, continue creating art and engaging in grassroots organizing and community building.

Lawrence is hoping to build connections with people in the state of Washington who share similar interests and values. He is seeking to build relationships and establish community support systems around his re-entry goals.

To write to Lawrence via email, download the Securus Mobile app, create an account, and purchase stamps.

You can find Lawrence in the Securus system by looking up "Lawrence Jenkins 306665 Stafford Creek Corrections Center, Aberdeen, WA.