By Meredith Dunn
Artist Statement: This piece is a letter to my grandmother, whose love for me was always followed by a “but.” When she could not accept my bisexuality or the person I had grown into, I realized the closeness I had longed for would never be possible. I am shown in full color beside her black-and-white image to mark the moment I chose myself, even as it meant losing her. The separation between us holds grief, clarity, and the painful understanding that love without acceptance is not enough.
Meredith Dunn is a political organizer in the Nashville, Tennessee, area of the U.S. She works with local Democratic and nonpartisan activist groups in hopes of making Tennessee a safer space for everyone in the LGBTQIA2S+ community.