THE TEACHER
$12,200.00
Sale price
$12,200.00
Regular price
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THE TEACHER
$12,200.00
Sale price
$12,200.00
Regular price
an addiction to being less
and making sure that others follow suit
so you don’t have to do more
an addiction to creating boxes so that people have to fit in them because then they become easier to control
so you create more lines for them to be in
more lines for you to say they’ve crossed
more lines so that you know where the pain begins
where the torture starts
where things need to be aligned
where people must stay while you enjoy the benefits of their discomfort
Welcome to the portrait of my father. A man built on enforcing perfection. He taught with an iron fist in the classroom and came home with the same tools. He understood that conformity will keep you safe and then became the monster I feared the most. I paint this as tribute to understanding him as I try to forgive him. I thought that would help me, but understanding these lines of oppression just now makes it impossible to hate him. It’s as if hitting him would mean I can’t acknowledge his own experience of oppression. As a black woman, it feels like I lose either way.
The answer lies in not trying to change him. Letting him rest in-between the items that represent him: a classroom desk and the chair I sat on.
Jane Adhi, 2026
THE TEACHER
48x48 oil on wood