“Pursuit”
24″ h x 18″ w, screenprint (signed, numbered 30/80) (2013)
“We Stand Together”
18″ h x 24″ w, screenprint (signed, numbered 99/200) (2026)
I was definitely a stuffed animal kid growing up, and fully anthropomorphized stuffed toys were a prime outlet for a very vivid child’s imagination. I cared for them, enacted stories with them, and was positively devastated at the thought of any harm befalling them (you know what my least favorite movie series of all time is? Toy Story). In that vein, I find the top screenprint, “Pursuit”, more than a little unnerving. Why are all the animals running? What is pursuing them? Are they in danger? Are they going to be okay?
The bottom screenprint was released thirteen years after the first one. But in my head, they are in direct conversation with one another. Jay Ryan’s “Bird Machine” print shop is based in Chicago, and “We Stand Together” was executed in the midst of the Trump administration’s raids on immigrant families in the Windy City (a portion of the proceeds was set aside to benefit an immigrant bond fund). I used to live in Chicago, and I now live in Portland, so this should-have-been unimaginable prospect of a federal invasion of my home is extremely real to me. People, real people (including real kids) are being hunted and chased down by men who hide behind masks and abuse the power of law to terrorize the innocent.
So what do we do when our neighbors, friends, loved ones, are being pursued by threats and predators?
We stand together. Simple as that.
David Schraub 