In Monica Youn’s poem “Parable of the Magpie and the Mirror” (2021), the eponymous Magpie willingly submits to placement in a cage by Scientist, who seeks to determine if the bird is self-aware and, therefore, his equal. Will Magpie recognize itself in a mirror? Yes, Magpie does. Magpie, seeking to demonstrate its worth, initially submits to these strictures and tests, but finally rebels when marked with a yellow sticker as a measure of self-awareness. Magpie rips the sticker off, demanding recognition of equality and freedom. Scientist stipulates that while Magpie has indeed proven its self-awareness and therefore equality, “because you are an equal, you must be marked with a yellow sticker in order to leave this cage”. Like Youn’s text, Patty B. Driscoll’s complex works of art engage questions of identity, self-awareness, and equity. In this exhibition, the artist ranges across media to address belonging, acknowledgement, tradition, violence, and rebellion through painstakingly detailed objects. Some are designed to endure while others beguilingly convey that permanence is elusive and that all is not what it seems. - Dr. Tanya L. Jones, PH. D.