Montreal-based illustrator Ambivalently Yours, an anonymous artist and former fashion industry employee who shares her “feminist rants” on Instagram and Tumblr (where she encourages the community to share their ambivalent feelings and questions), has embraced the difficult emotions and shades of gray that come with being a woman, a feminist, and a human being.
“These small acts of rebellion are meant as conversation starters, acts of compassion and examples of active yet ambivalent resistance,” she writes of her illustrations and other projects. “Part of being a feminist is about advocating for a woman’s right to choose. This right, however, does not imply there is only one choice, or that a final decision needs to be reached in order to achieve political change,” she explains.
Her latest series Feeling Out Loud is one we can all relate to. More from the artist:
In the current political climate, I find it hard to just feel my emotions. I feel so upset and angry about all the time. This recent influx of hatred, racism, sexism, ableism, classism… all the ugly ugly isms that are encouraged and emboldened by the ugly people in power…. all these things make it hard to feel. Sometimes I just want to go numb, stop caring, focus on other things, smaller things . . . but we have to keep feeling . . . or else they win, and we disappear.
See more of Ambivalently Yours’ artworks, below.