In the the portrait with the dress, Kia is pictured in a wedding gown with her mother’s belongings littered across the floor. Her mother’s life boiled down to a purse, shoes, some letters, and a few more pieces of what is essentially junk. The pain caused by losing her mother to a horrible illness, she herself contracted in-utero, needed an outlet. Her way of processing the loss was through her art. She no longer saw herself as Kia Labeija “the artist”, but Kia Labeija, “the artist with HIV.” The thing that struck me most was the fact that she saw herself as a character, one that she created. That persona of “Kia” was a mask that she used to face the world as an HIV-positive, queer, woman, artist of color. With absolutely everything going against her, she was able to make a name and a living for herself, and that more than anything, is truly inspiring.