Deborah Johnson (she/they) is a queer Indian-American multidisciplinary artist based in Boston, Massachusetts. She works predominantly in digital illustration and painting in gouache. She is currently completing her Master’s in Social Work at Boston College. Deborah utilizes bright and joyful colors and written affirmations to address issues of mental health, the importance of intimate friendship and the beauty of queer relationships. The emotions of joy and love are inherently political and she hopes her art provides a rest stop for individuals to reflect on those values.

https://www.debsdreaming.com/portfolio
www.instagram.com/debs.dreaming

Artist Statement

My artistic journey has always centered a deep connection to my mental health, ancestry, and community. One of the most important questions I've learned to ask myself as a somatic practitioner and artist is, "For the sake of what? Art for the sake of what?" For me, it is for the sake of spiritual and emotional expression, for the sake of connection, and for the sake of freedom. I am queer, a survivor, Indian-American and immigrated to the US at a young age. My relationship to these identities is inseparable from the work I create. My journey as a yoga teacher and therapist has deeply informed my artistic practice. I hope through emphasizing an intuitive art process, using materials that are easily available, and integrating the body, that my work can challenge the idea that art must be inaccessible in order to be valuable or effective. I hope my work encourages someone to buy cheap watercolors, take a deep breath, and paint the pain they have felt in their upper back, or write down the words they wish their mother told them, and frame it above their makeshift altar.