Heather Benjamin was among the first people who came to mind when the idea came about to curate the series on Instagram artists. Her distinct style has emerged from the New England punk scene, where she began forging her own unique brand of drawing and painting that is simultaneously emotionally introspective, and sometimes, grotesque or viscerally hyperbolic. Her prolific oeuvre of self published zines shows a dedication to producing intricately crafted, and frugally reproduced art objects. Benjamin’s work explores the female body/ experience through a starkly punk lens. We spoke about her commitment to accessibility, and how her work has changed through developing a following and granting herself access to experiment outside her original limitations.

Sharona Franklin’s array of work explores several different avenues, all with a personal and collective connecting thread which tells the story of disabled people. Her work includes the making of gelatin molds, woven blankets, graphic design, and writing. These pieces tell the story of a disabled artist, creating her own world from inside her home. It felt particularly synchronous to be speaking on this theme of domesticity now in the age of the coronavirus lockdowns, and was illuminating to get this much-needed perspective. Her gelatin sculptures combine a mysterious collage of ephemera, from both the alchemical/botanical, to the sterile, seemingly mundane/ domestic elements of her life. These sculptures themselves are ephemeral, and subject to a natural decomposition from the moment they are created. Franklin maintains multiple Instagram accounts through which she filters different aspects of her work. She has used multiple avenues of her art and social media to advocate fiercely for the lives of disabled and otherwise marginalized people.