Following our “20 Years With No Executions: What Have We Learned?” webinar, Asheville artist Icy McKether created two original works reflecting on the conversations and histories that emerged. Through layered imagery and poetry, these pieces invite us to consider what justice can look like beyond systems of capital punishment
Release the Hounds
Mixed media collage by Icy McKether
Artist’s Statement
Dogs were used to hunt and attack people seeking freedom. Police used dogs to intimidate and injure peaceful protestors. The legacy of fear continues as K-9 units patrol neighborhoods. Institutions weaponizing dogs as tools to enforce power create generational trauma for those who saw dogs used as weapons. Dogs may inherit trauma too. Violence, aggression, and obedience are learned behaviors. They did not consent to living under these rules.
When we talk about freedom, it is worth noting that people and dogs are confined by systems that limit their movement, their choices, and their lives. And even though dogs cannot speak, we should assume that, like any living being, they would choose freedom over confinement. The same is true for people. No one wants to live in a cage. No one wants to live under surveillance. Not people or animals. Understanding history helps us see how freedom is deeply connected across species. Tools of harm have power over everything. Liberation for people and animals is about dignity.
Divest
Acrostic poem and mixed media collage by Icy McKether
Artist’s Statement
What can we do to defrost chilly moods and provide freedom for millions behind bars and those at high risk of incarceration? It’s a family issue. Incarceration begins with low literacy and poverty, nutritional deficits, and lack of access to resources. It continues with rapid investment in preventive measures and layers of red tape that separate loved ones. This piece asks us to imagine life beyond incarceration because families and communities serve death sentences, too. I hope to convey compassion by romanticizing the pursuit of liberty and encourage you to inquire about your community’s investment in crime and justice.
Meet the Artist
I’m Icy McKether. I am an avid walker and floral photographer. I like to make art and do crafts outdoors at Asheville’s breweries and in the city’s parks and public libraries. My art explores justice, women’s rights, and Black history. I mix mediums and follow the flow to release what I have absorbed through storytelling. Creativity is my legacy. My home state of Michigan taught me to swing with the pendulum. That’s what I wish for the landscape to do by releasing these artworks. I work hard to preserve what’s here while building a better future. I hope to communicate the ease of imagining a new life by contrasting soft imagery with coarse language. Another original poem was recently featured on Disparate Dots (Asheville 103.3 FM) in April to observe National Poetry Month. Find more of my art on Instagram @icygirl.designs, and educational content on Etsy @icygirlnailsss.
