Birds of a
Feather project
Art Is Freedom
Doug Brinkman, X
2013, Social Art Projects, 2025
Three Coffee Pots
Faith - Democracy - Nature
HOMME MADE - DUNDEE LAW
Tribute to Virgil Abloh, and Dennis Edney
...and Listen, XLife
Fire and Rain
Free to Express
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XLives, 2025, Art Project Tributes
👟Virgil Abloh — Chicago’s Fashion Architect. Born in Rockford, Illinois in 1980 to Ghanaian immigrant parents, Virgil Abloh grew up in a household where creativity was stitched into daily life—his mother was a seamstress who taught him how to sew. He earned a degree in civil engineering from the University of Wisconsin and a master’s in architecture from the Illinois Institute of Technology, where the works of Rem Koolhaas and Mies van der Rohe sparked his interest in design. Virgil’s journey into fashion began at a Chicago print shop, where he met Kanye West. That connection led to a creative partnership that included an internship at Fendi and eventually the founding of Off-White in 2013. In 2018, he became the first Black artistic director at Louis Vuitton, blending streetwear with luxury in a way that redefined fashion’s future.
🍁US/ Them, Art Show & Tell, of a Point of Order, add a little ice cream, my just reward. A young woman, lingering with a tattooed crowd in downtown Edmonton near the library, complimented my artwork. After finishing my rapidly melting ice cream in the 24°C heat, I walked over to her gang to show the backside, titled Disorder. Suddenly, a young man lunged at me. "Get the f*** away from here!" he snapped. Before I could react, the group's matriarch—Mama Tattoo—spoke up. "I like your painting," she said, her voice steady. The young man’s demeanor shifted. He looked at the artwork again, his expression softening. "That's an amazing piece of art," he admitted.
The Selfish Pursuit of Artistic Truth
🎨Selfishness often gets a bad rap. It’s branded as greedy, thoughtless, a trait best left on the villain’s shelf. But peel away the stigma, and you’ll find that in art, selfishness can be revolutionary—especially when it’s paired with vision, vulnerability, and integrity. Take the Group of Seven: A.Y. Jackson and Lawren Harris didn’t have their fame handed to them, even though Harris had wealth from the Massey-Harris fortune. They worked hard, committed deeply, and “selfishly” pursued an unshakable idea—that Canadian landscapes deserved their own voice in art.
🎨And then there’s Jack Bush. Trapped in the commercial art world for decades, he suffered anxiety and depression. He longed for a life of emotional honesty—one where color, not corporate briefs, spoke for him. Inspired by the Group of Seven and later mentored by Clement Greenberg, Bush “selfishly” chose abstraction, ditching safety for soul. His art didn’t chase trends—it chased feeling. And in doing so, it soared internationally.
9 Afghan Boys Gathering Firewood
🎨Mindful selfishness, the kind that: Defies conformity to pursue personal truth. Sets boundaries that guard mental, emotional, and cultural health. Turns pain into inspiration. Gives yourself and others permission to be unapologetically themselves. Yes, privilege played a role. Yes, systemic barriers shaped outcomes. But at the core, each story is a testament to how “selfish” choices—when made with integrity—can spark transformation in not just the artist, but the world they paint...
🎨By rejecting European traditions, they carved out space for a uniquely Canadian aesthetic. Their boundaries weren’t barriers—they were a declaration: We paint what we believe. Contrast that with the Indian Group of Seven (Professional Native Indian Artists Inc.). These artists—Norval Morrisseau, Daphne Odjig, Alex Janvier, and others—had no silver platter, no institutional warmth. What they had was fierce resolve. Their “selfishness” wasn’t about ego—it was survival. They refused to be typecast as cultural artifacts and instead demanded recognition as contemporary creators. They built their own galleries, funded their own shows, and shaped a legacy that fought erasure with artistic defiance.
⚖️ Dennis Edney — Edmonton’s Freedom Fighter. Dennis Edney was born in Dundee, Scotland in 1946, the son of a lorry driver. He left home at 17, played semi-pro soccer in San Francisco, and worked as a truck driver and carpenter before pursuing law at Northumbria University in England. He immigrated to Canada and settled in Edmonton, where he practiced criminal and human rights law for over four decades. Edney became internationally known for defending Omar Khadr, a Canadian detained at Guantanamo Bay as a teenager. His work spanned Canadian and U.S. courts, and he was appointed Foreign Attorney Consultant by the Pentagon. Despite public backlash, Edney stood firm, believing in justice even for the unpopular. He lectured globally on the rule of law and received numerous accolades, including the Canadian National Pro Bono Award and the Human Rights Medal from British Columbia.
"You’re not going to gain anything with hate. It’s more destructive than it’s constructive. Love and forgiveness are more constructive and will bring people together." Omar Khadr — Spoken during his time in Guantanamo, reflecting on personal transformation.
