Jonathan Martin

I didn't experience any unique challenges growing up with a single mother. If anything I felt that the opportunities and accommodations my mother provided for me were beyond that of many of my peers.

She would always work multiple jobs. Paying the bills and taking care of the house while still being there for me when I needed her. To me this was normal. I didn't find out until later what it really took to work three jobs or that she would commonly skip meals so that I could eat. I wouldn't entirely understand how much my mother, Kim Harris struggled to keep us on stable ground until I was old enough to peek through the cracks.

The piece of art displayed is a self portrait done in 2011, using charcoal and wood. It depicts me “peeking through the cracks” to see the work it really took to raise me.