2017. Edition of 450
18” x 24” (46 x 61cm)
Screen-print on cream Speckleton paper
Signed and numbered in pencil
"My “Target Exceptions” print addresses the challenges of both visiting and becoming a resident of the United States for many people. As it turns out, there are various target criteria that make a person an ideal candidate to immigrate, but most people who might long to fulfill the “American Dream” are exceptions to the target qualifications, especially considering the attitudes and attempted policies of the current administration.
Resident status in the U.S. is hypothetically granted for four main reasons: family ties, employment, status as a refugee, and to promote diversity.
In other words, it will most likely be family or business/employment connections that are the most viable route to a U.S. visa considering that refugees and people who would expand diversity seem altogether unwelcome in the U.S. at the moment. I’ll be donating proceeds of this print to the ACLU to support their advocacy work for immigrant communities." - Shepard