Day: March 4, 2019

Where’s the Beef? US, Britain Clash Over Post-Brexit Trade Deal

By Uponbiz | | No Comments | Business

Sharp differences have emerged between the United States and Britain over farming standards and practices in any post-Brexit trade deal.

 

The trans-Atlantic allies have already begun exploratory talks on a trade agreement after Britain’s EU exit, which is scheduled for March 29. Britain, however, is resisting U.S. demands to open its markets to agricultural products currently banned under EU law.

 

The most widely-cited example is Europe’s import ban on American “chlorinated chicken” — carcasses that have been washed using chlorine to remove harmful bacteria like E. coli and salmonella. Europe says an over-reliance on chlorine lowers overall production and hygiene standards in poultry farming, a claim the United States disputes.

 

The EU has also banned the import of beef from American cattle that have been treated with artificial growth hormones. The bloc says that one commonly used hormone may cause cancer and concludes there is not enough scientific data on the other hormones to approve their use for public consumption.

Washington has made it clear any trade deal with Britain after Brexit must see these measures dropped.

 

U.S. President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the U.S. Trade and Development Agency, former Republican Congressman Darrell Issa, said recently that the millions of Britons visiting the United States every year enjoy perfectly safe food.

 

“We’d like to have that arrangement being one in which in Britain you can choose to have American chicken, American beef, or other agricultural products just as you could when you come to the United States,” he told VOA. “It is a key lynchpin of an agreement. Financial, manufacturing and agriculture has to be free and fair.”

 

Issa added that President Trump is committed to sealing a trade deal with Britain after Brexit, and that it could “be the next NAFTA”, referring to the North American Free Trade Agreement between the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

 

Writing in Britain’s The Telegraph newspaper Saturday, America’s ambassador to Britain, Woody Johnson, attacked what he called “myths” over U.S. farming and alleged they are part of a protectionist agenda.

 

Britain has repeatedly pledged that it will not lower food standards after Brexit. Responding to Ambassador Johnson’s comments, Britain’s international trade minister, Liam Fox, said London would hold its ground.

 

“Will we accept things that we believe are against the interests of our consumers or our producers? No we won’t. It’s a negotiation,” Fox told the BBC’s Andrew Marr show Sunday.

 

The dispute over American beef and poultry is also influencing debate over the Irish border, a key stumbling block in Britain’s attempt to secure an EU exit deal.

 

Britain and Europe want to avoid border checks between Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom, and the Republic of Ireland, an EU member state. Ireland’s prime minister, Leo Varadkar, recently expressed fears that the border could open a back door into the EU.

 

“If at some point in the future the United Kingdom were to allow chlorinated chicken or beef with hormones into their markets, we wouldn’t want that coming into our markets or the European Union as well,” Varadkar told reporters.

 

The United States says a trade deal would deliver huge benefits in sectors like financial services. Britain, meanwhile, is keen to bolster its post-Brexit credentials as a global trading power.

 

Far away from the skyscrapers of New York or London, it is farming that could prove the biggest barrier to any agreement.

 
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US Actor Luke Perry Dead at 52

By Uponent | | No Comments | Entertainment

Luke Perry, who gained instant heartthrob status as wealthy rebel Dylan McKay on “Beverly Hills, 90210,” died Monday after suffering a massive stroke, his publicist said. He was 52.

 

Perry was surrounded by family and friends when he died, publicist Arnold Robinson said. The actor had been hospitalized since last Wednesday, after a 911 call summoned medical help to his home in the Sherman Oaks section of Los Angeles.

 

“The family appreciates the outpouring of support and prayers that have been extended to Luke from around the world, and respectfully request privacy in this time of great mourning,” Robinson said in a statement. Those at Perry’s bedside included his children, Jake and Sophie; fiancee Wendy Madison Bauer; former wife, Minnie Sharp, and mother Ann Bennett.

 

Perry had played construction company owner Fred Andrews, father of main character Archie Andrews, for three seasons on “Riverdale,” the CW series that gives a dark take on “Archie” comics. A fourth season has been slated.

 

“90210” co-star Ian Ziering paid tribute to his co-star on Twitter, where fans and celebrities shared their memories of Perry and mourned him . “I will forever bask in the loving memories we’ve shared over the last thirty years,” Ziering said. “May your journey forward be enriched by the magnificent souls who have passed before you, just like you have done here, for those you leave behind.”

 

Born and raised in rural Fredericktown, Ohio, Perry gained fame on “Beverly Hills, 90210,” which ran from 1990 to 2000. In a 2006 interview with The Associated Press, he recounted being partly inspired to pursue acting by a photo of Paul Newman his mother kept on her mirror.

 

He played out the memory of hearing his mother say, “He’s the most beautiful man in the world, honey … he’s a movie star.”

 

“I thought, ‘OK, that’s cool.’ I watched him and, ‘Yeah, man, who didn’t want to be Paul Newman!'”

 

But Perry expanded his interests far beyond acting, identifying history as a passion and family a priority.

 

“When you are younger you can have only work, and I did for a long time,” he told the AP in 2006. “But it doesn’t command my attention that way anymore. A lot of the mysteries and the questions I had about it I’ve figured out, but life offers up mysteries every day.”

 

He had roles in a handful of films, including “The Fifth Element,” “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “8 Seconds” and “American Strays,” appeared in HBO’s prison drama “Oz” as a televangelist convicted of fraud, and voiced cartoons including “The Incredible Hulk” and “Mortal Kombat.”

 

The actor’s next big screen role will be in Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time In Hollywood,” which is slated for release in July.

 

He made his Broadway musical debut as Brad in the “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” and starred on London’s West End in another stage adaptation of a film, “When Harry Met Sally.” In recent years he starred in the series “Ties That Bind” and “Body of Proof.”

 

The same day he was hospitalized, Fox TV announced that it would be running a six-episode return of “90210” featuring most of the original cast, but Perry was not among those announced.

 

On the original series, Perry’s character went from loner to part of a close-knit circle that included twins Brenda and Brandon Walsh (Shannen Doherty, Jason Priestley), but also endured a string of romantic, family and other setbacks, including drug addiction. Perry left the series in 1995 to pursue other roles, returning in 1998 for the rest of the show’s run as a guest star.

 

In a 2011 interview with the AP, Perry said he and his male co-stars were a “really good strong core group” while the show aired and maintained close ties. The friendship and trust he shared with Priestley created a sort of “shorthand” when it came to filming, Perry said.
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‘Where’s The Beef? US, Britain Clash Over Post-Brexit Trade Deal

By Uponbiz | | No Comments | Business

London and Washington are beginning exploratory talks over a trade deal after Britain leaves the European Union – which both sides say could deliver huge economic benefits. But already sharp differences have emerged over what might be included, as Britain resists U.S. demands to open its markets to agricultural products currently banned under EU law. Henry Ridgwell reports from London.
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Trump Prepares to Tighten Trade Embargo on Cuba

By Uponbiz | | No Comments | Business

The Trump administration is preparing to tighten the six-decade trade embargo on Cuba on Monday by allowing some lawsuits against foreign companies using properties confiscated by the Cuban government after its 1959 revolution, U.S. officials say.

Every president since Bill Clinton has suspended a section of the 1996 Helms-Burton act that would allow such lawsuits because they would snarl companies from U.S.-allied countries in years of complicated litigation that could prompt international trade claims against the United States.

Major investors in Cuba include British tobacco giant Imperial Brands, which runs a joint venture with the Cuban government making premium cigars; Spanish hoteliers Iberostar and Melia, who run dozens of hotels across the island; and French beverage-maker Pernod-Ricard, which makes Havana Club rum with a Cuban state distiller.

U.S. officials told The Associated Press that Trump would allow Title III of Helms-Burton to go into effect in a limited fashion that exempts many potential targets from litigation. The measure is being presented as retaliation for Cuba’s support of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who the U.S. is trying to oust in favor of opposition leader Juan Guaido.

Allowing a limited number of lawsuits could make investment in Cuba more burdensome for companies thinking of entering the market, who will now have to do additional research into their legal liability, but it is unlikely to be a major blow against the Cuban economy.

After nearly 60 years of trade embargo, the Cuban economy is in a period of consistently low growth of about 1 percent a year, with foreign investment at roughly $2 billion, far below what it needs to spur more prosperity. But tourism, remittances and subsidized oil from Venezuela have allowed the government to maintain basic services and a degree of stability that appears unshaken by the Trump administration’s recent moves against Cuba and its major remaining allies in Latin America — Venezuela and Nicaragua.
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From Satirical to Silly, Walking Clubs Spice Up Mardi Gras

By Uponent | | No Comments | Entertainment

A floppy-eared pooch wearing a red crustacean costume rides in a wagon decorated like a shrimp boat, followed by another “boat” wagon occupied by a pug in a sailor hat.

Behind them, on a leash, strolls a white maltese in a Wonder Woman costume alongside canines in fluffy purple, green and gold tutus.

The dog-centered Krewe of Barkus is one of 50 walking Carnival clubs in New Orleans that parade throughout the Mardi Gras season, ranging from satirical and political to the cute and risque.

It’s the most walking clubs in the city’s long Carnival history, making the weekslong celebration more colorful and diverse than ever, says Mardi Gras historian Arthur Hardy, who publishes an annual guide with historical facts about Carnival, as well as parade schedules and route maps.

“It’s just amazing how many different ways there are to express yourself at Mardi Gras,” Hardy said. And the walking clubs have added “a new level of inclusion and diversity and participation that we have not seen before.”

Among the favorite walking parades drawing thousands of spectators yearly are the Star Wars-themed Intergalactic Krewe of Chewbacchus, the satirical and sometimes downright raunchy adult-themed Krewe du Vieux, and Barkus.

While some groups put on choreographed dances or march between floats and bands in the larger parades, others take center stage in the French Quarter, strolling along the narrow streets of the historic neighborhood where large floats aren’t permitted.

Krewe of Cork members donning grape and wine-themed costumes sipped from goblets as they handed out beads with corks and grapevine emblems.

The “krewe,” the New Orleans name for a Carnival club, included women dressed in nude bodysuits covered with clear balls made to look like champagne bubbles.

Thousands of spectators turned out for the parade, watching from the sidewalks of the city’s famed Bourbon Street, where topless women held signs advertising colorful “nipple glitter” for revelers wanting to decorate their breasts.

Naughty or not, it’s all in good fun, and most parades are family-friendly, Hardy said.

“The best thing I like about it is the freedom of expression and the creativity,” said New Orleans native Cortney Sessum, donning a platinum blond wig as she took in the sights of Barkus. “I love seeing the costume ideas.”

Some walking clubs have already paraded and are done for the season, while others will parade more than once. And there’s still plenty to see between now and Fat Tuesday on March 5.

The Krewe of Red Beans, where members use red beans in place of beads to create elaborate suits and costumes, will parade on “Lundi Gras,” the Monday before Mardi Gras, in a nod to the city’s culinary tradition of eating red beans and rice on Mondays.

Among the groups parading on Fat Tuesday is Pete Fountain’s Half Fast Marching Club, which walks ahead of the Zulu and Rex float parades, as well as the masked revelers of the Society of St. Anne and several Mardi Gras Indian tribes donning elaborately beaded costumes and tall feathered headdresses.

“There’s something for everyone,” Hardy said. “I tell people, if you can’t have a good time at Mardi Gras, you better check your pulse. Something’s wrong with you, baby.”
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Strong Resistance to Trade Deal Brewing in China

By Uponbiz | | No Comments | Business

Even as China and the United States are working to finalize a trade agreement, Beijing is grappling with the challenge of building political consensus about implementing and enforcing the deal on the ground.

The challenge for the Xi Jinping-led government is both economic and political at a time when the annual political congress has just begun in Beijing.

Delegates to the meetings include the heads of major Chinese corporations both private and state-owned.

The deal may hit State Owned Enterprises hard, an important Communist Party base, as they stand to lose subsidies and monopoly status. SOEs employ millions of people in key sectors like energy, mining, banking and manufacturing.

“The Chinese government will face resistance from SOEs and coastal provinces with dynamic trade with the US and other countries,” said Zhiqun Zhu, chair of the department of international relations at Bucknell University.

During the political sessions, President Xi will be closely watched in China and the world over as he deals with issues like the trade deal, the Huawei controversy and an increasingly slowing economy. The two-week sessions will be attended by around 5,000 delegates from around the country.

The US is not just asking China to buy more American goods, it is demanding structural changes from Chinese industry, which enjoy preferential treatment compared to foreign investors in many sectors. The deal could mean an end to government subsidies and monopoly status for SOEs in several markets.

“Structural reforms will be more difficult [for China] due to vested interests of SOEs and local governments and businesses with extensive trade,” Zhiqun said.

Paul Gillis, a professor at Peking University’s Guanghua School of Management said, “Trade policy changes always have winners and losers. Expect opposition from the losers”.

Nature of challenge

The resistance will be internal, voiced in closed-door discussions of small groups of legislators and not during televised discussions of the National People’s Congress and the China People’s Political Consultative Conference, the two bodies that are part of the so-called “Twin Sessions.”

In the main sessions, which are televised live, no one speaks out of turn and without his or her speech vetted by senior leaders in advance, sources said.

“We have our system which is centralized. Once the President gives a directive, the delegates will not say no,” said Shen Dingli, a Shanghai based international relations specialist.

“The Twin Sessions will follow the leader’s view. The leader wants reform while making sure there is no pre-mature reform because that would be result in weakening China,” he said.

Under the surface, provincial leaders from more developed provinces and cities like Shanghai, Guangzhou are expressing concern about the negative fallout on the local economy if the deal is implemented.

Heads of several state owned corporations are already asking the government that their performance must be evaluated differently once the deal is implemented, informed sources said. They expect to take a hit on their profitability as the deal will give a bigger role to foreign competitors.

“At the end of the day, it is up to the central government and President Xi. If they are really determined to carry out structural reforms, they can, despite challenges and resistance,” Zhiqun said. China’s former Premier Zhu Rongji faced a lot of resistance when he carried out structural reforms in the 1990s but he still succeeded in his mission, he said.

Taking the hit

On the other hand, some analysts believe that the giant state-owned corporations are quite capable of handling the new challenge that will emanate from the trade deal with the US.

“They will face tougher competition in China from further opening up and reduction of state support, but I think they can handle that,” Gillis said. He was referring to the expected increase in the role of foreign companies once the deal is implemented in China.

The SOEs have been facing competition from foreign players since 2001 when China became a member of the World Trade Organization, he said. This time the competition will be more intense as restrictions on foreign firms will be reduced.

“The competition seems to have made many of these companies stronger,” Gillis said.

Chinese experts said the US should not expect China to restructure its economy as soon as the ink dries on the contract. Beijing was moving towards market based economy for its own reasons before the trade war and is now ready to hasten the process.

“The question is: Can China stop all subsidies to state owned enterprises? In some cases, China is not ready now, it needs a few years. It’s better if the US accepts a time bound commitment from China,” Shen said.

The US and China look at the situation differently, he said. The US believes that the presence of several competing players in the market is good for the customer. The Chinese think national competitiveness can be enhanced quickly if the government steps in to mobilize national resources to create and nurture a few gigantic national SOEs, he said.

 
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Disabled Children Suffer Discrimination, Denial of their Human Rights

By Uponsci | | No Comments | Science

Human rights advocates are calling for an end to the discrimination that denies children with disabilities the same right to an equal education and other opportunities available to other children in society. The U.N. Human Rights Council is holding a special session in Geneva on the empowerment of children with disabilities.

In keeping with the theme of the day, the U.N. has made the Council chamber wheelchair-accessible, has hired a sign interpreter for the hearing impaired, and has embossed some oral statements in Braille.

With these accommodations to children with disabilities, the U.N. is sending a message that it practices what it preaches. It is saying children with disabilities will be able to lead a full and fulfilling life on a par with other children if certain adaptations are made to their needs.

However, the United Nations reports the sad reality is that 93 million children with disabilities around the world are likely to have their rights violated from the moment they are born. It says millions of these children are torn from their families and placed in institutions where they are at risk of violence, abuse and neglect.

U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, is a medical doctor and a pediatrician. In her practice, she says she quickly learned the voices of disabled children too often go unheard.

“While preparing for today, I was remembering when I just started to be a pediatrician how people will leave the situation of children with disabilities. It was much more complicated. People denied, people hide those children. They will put them sort of in boxes so they will not really be able to develop. They will speak — even doctors in front of the children — like either they did not hear or that they did not exist.”

Experts debating the issue agree children with disabilities must be provided with an education on an equal basis with all children. They consider this a crucial step toward their empowerment and the realization of other key rights.

They say the empowerment of children with disabilities also depends upon the implementation of laws, policies and measures to tackle harmful social norms and protect them from discrimination, stigma and abuse.

High Commissioner Bachelet says children with disabilities are among the most likely to be left behind and the least likely to be heard. She says they have the right to raise their voices and to be heard in decisions affecting their lives.

 

 
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China Launches Tech Hub Megalopolis to Rival Silicon Valley

By Uponsil | | No Comments | Silicon Valley

As the global race to gain the lead in next generation tech heats up, China is stepping up its efforts, recently announcing a long-awaited plan to link up its southern Pearl River Delta into a massive hub of technology, research finance and innovation.

The possibilities and challenges of the project are both equally challenging and promising, analysts say.

Some describe the plan as an attempt to create a mega-city to rival Silicon Valley, the U.S. technology powerhouse that is home to companies such as Google, Facebook, and Apple.

But while Silicon Valley has a population of 3.1 million and covers an area 121.4 square kilometers, the Greater Bay Area will link up nine cities together with Hong Kong and Macau and cover an area of 56,000 square kilometers. The area will have a population of about 70 million and the economic heft, state media argues, to drive the Chinese economy, let alone the world.

According to the plan, which was announced recently and is expected to be a prominent topic during high-level political meetings this month in Beijing, each city will focus on an area of strength. For example, Hong Kong will focus on finance, Macau tourism, Shenzhen, innovation and technology, Guangzhou will be a gateway and logistic hub and so on.

The plan is not necessarily new. China’s opening up to the world more than four decades ago began in the south and the Pearl River Delta has long been home to some of the country’s leading companies from telecommunications – such as Huawei to Internet giant Tencent and host of other technology and manufacturing enterprises.

“It’s (the plan) a natural evolution of economic growth and the growth engine,” said Adam Xu, partner at OC&C Strategy Consultants. “If you really look at history in China, a lot of top down plans always have some bottom up support. A lot of economic activity has already happened there, then you have a grand plan to first officially recognize, then to promote and to further accelerate.”

Xu said that as labor costs rise in China, the country is looking to move up the industrial value chain and the program seeks to do just that to push the region on to the next wave, be it the manufacturing of electric cars, financial services or telecommunications.

It also aims to drive investment to the area at a time when foreign funds flowing into the country are sagging.

Challenges

One key challenge, Xu adds, will be execution. The plan will tie together three different legal jurisdictions and that makes the plan unique compared to the two other major mega-city projects in China – the Beijing, Hebei, Tianjin merger and the Yangtze River Delta integration plan near Shanghai.

“We don’t know how effective the top down grand plan will (be in) guiding the many independent growing forces at the city level to coordinate and be successful,” Xu said. “This part will be quite an important challenge.”

China has long had deep pockets when it comes to making investments that push forward technological advances. In many cases, however, that has led to overlaps in development and spending on technology and in turn oversupply.

“Looking at the grand scheme each city doesn’t have anything new,” said C.Y. Huang, partner of FCC Partners. “The biggest challenge and the biggest beauty – if they can pull it off – will be linking all of these together. 

One way the plan could do that is not just by lifting physical barriers, but the flow of people, information and money.

China has already taken major strides to overcome some of the physical obstacles such as linking Hong Kong with Guangzhou and Shenzhou by high-speed rail and its recent opening of the 55-kilometer Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge. 

But other barriers may prove to be a bigger challenge.

“I think it is really the barriers in systems that is the challenge. If they can really pull that off that will be a tremendous benefit and synergy in the long term,” Huang said.

At the same time, he added, we shouldn’t underestimate the social and political aspect of the challenges because we are talking about people.

“One is a communist country, and the other is a free society. Although they talk about one country two systems, still it is different,” Huang said.
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Spielberg’s Push Against Netflix At The Oscars Hits a Nerve

By Uponent | | No Comments | Entertainment

“Roma” may not have won the best picture Oscar this year, but it came close enough to make some of Hollywood’s top players worried about Netflix’s infiltration of their most prestigious award.

Filmmaker Steven Spielberg intends to support rule changes that could block Netflix from Oscars-eligibility at an upcoming meeting of the film academy’s board of governors. 

The move has provoked a heated and unwieldy debate online this weekend that has found the legendary filmmaker at odds with some industry heavyweights, who have pointed out that Netflix has been an important supporter of minority filmmakers and stories, especially in awards campaigns. 

It has also reignited the ongoing streaming versus theatrical debate.
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Visual Exploration of Who African Americans Are

By Uponent | | No Comments | Entertainment

Artist Zsudayka Nzinga Terrell vividly recalls the day in elementary school when an assignment about family history made the impossibility of answering the questions Who am I? and Where did I come from? clear. “These white kids were able to get out and talk about hundreds of years of their background. And it was me and one of the black kids in the class who could go back to a plantation in Virginia and that’s it.”

“My people were brought here on a bottom of a ship,” she explains. “They were sold and they were re-named. My dad’s side of the family took the last name of the job they had, which is Butler. My mom’s side of the family took the last name of the plantation that owned them. So I’m not just Nigerian now, I’m not just Ghanaian. I’m a combination of things.”

Today, she and her husband, artist James Terrell, explore that identity in their work. Their new exhibit of acrylic paintings at the Center for the Arts in Manassas, Virginia, is called “Born at the Bottom of the Ship” and reflects their quest.

New culture, new tribe

Over the generations, Africans became African Americans with a new culture, and Nzinga Terrell incorporates various elements of that in her art. 

“You’ll see a lot of things that remind people of the African print and African textiles. But you’ll also see things that are reminiscent of the American culture and American print and textile,” she says.

An example is “Hope and Grace,” a painting of two women wearing colorful dresses with distinctive African patterns. “They have these big afros,” she adds. “They have different skin tones as well as different hair texture. It could be in 1960; it could be in 2018. I feel like there is an embodiment in them of all of the different cultures. I love the strength of them and their poses. They both look very sure of themselves. Both are very unapologetically black.”

James Terrell’s style is more abstract. Mami Wata, the first piece visitors see in the new exhibit, shows a woman rising from the ocean, created with white lines on a black background. “Mami Wata is the goddess of the sea,” Terrell explains. “The line work, I tried to make it indicative of the tribal aspect, but also shown as a dark time, dark period. There is no light going through it; there’s not a lot of color seen, as opposed to the other ones. So, it’s just showing the time of the slaves being brought to America.”

But the artist says he also likes to play with color. “There was a color theorist named Josef Albers who was really into a color theory that had layers of colors and how to lay colors next to each other. So, growing up in a church that was into stained glass windows and how light comes through the windows, how colors vibrate, how they layered against each other. Then, the line in the middle, which separates the stain glass windows.”

Terrell’s works reflect how he sees himself as an African American.

“Trying to be uplifting, uplifting poses and not bowed down,” he says. The figures he paints “are standing firm, standing strong. The lines are symbolizing the fact that people say that our race has been broken, but I say that we’ve been put back together. And we’re stronger as people. The different colors represent the fact that we were coming from different backgrounds, we all come together, and we’re still together to form a particular person or a particular feeling.” 

As a husband and wife team, togetherness seems to impact their work in a positive way. “I’d say it’s a healthy competition,” Terrell says. “We give each other good advice. We can talk in terms of, ‘Well, should I put this color here or should I put this line here, what you think?’”

Delightful and inspirational 

Jordan Exum, gallery director at the Center for the Arts, says exhibit goers relate to artists’ identity exploration.

“I’ve found that people enjoy this exhibit; it’s a diverse group of people,” she notes. “It’s not just one culture, ethnicity that’s impacted by the message of the exhibit, which is exploring who African Americans are today. A lot of us in America, immigration is part of a lot of families’ histories and stories. So, I do think it’s a relevant theme. It’s a universal theme. I don’t think it only relates to the African American community.”

That was true for photographer Theresa Coates Ellis, who says she found “Born at the Bottom of the Ship” both intellectually and visually engaging. “As I walked in the main door, it was just an ‘ah!’ experience,” she said, trying to describe how surprised she felt. “But when the lights were turned to blue, it was a whole different experience. Everything popped. You see colors you didn’t even really recognize during the actual natural lighting.”

Another visitor, Kevin Seiger-Cottoms, saw himself in these works.

“When I first walked in, the colors and the shapes hit me first because I’m a mathematician and I love the geometry of the shapes and how they fit together,” he says. “Many things in this country are drawn from a European perspective, which I have nothing against, but it’s nice to be able to walk in and see my aunt, my cousin, my mom, my dad — to see different people that I relate to.”

The artists hope to take their exhibit on tour across America and around the world.
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