This episode of Broken Boxes presents a conversation with Chip Thomas, hosted by Cannupa Hanska Luger.

Chip Thomas, aka jetsonorama, is a photographer, public artist and physician who has been working in a small clinic on the Navajo Nation since 1987. There he coordinates the Painted Desert Project which he describes as a community building dialog which manifests as a constellation of murals painted by artists from the Navajo Nation as well as from around the World.

jetonorama photograph paste up on Navajo Nation, Tsegi Canyon near Kayenta. Photo by Broken Boxes, 2021

Thomas’ own public artwork consists of enlarged black and white photographs pasted onto structures along the roadside primarily on the Navajo Nation. His motivation is to reflect back to the community and the love they’ve shared with him over the years.

Thomas was a 2018 Kindle Project gift recipient and in 2020 he was one of a handful of artists chosen by the UN to recognize the 75th anniversary of the UN’s founding. Selected artists are to generate work that contributes to the envisioning and shaping of a more resilient and sustainable future. The UN writes “…Right now we are facing the greatest health challenge to the human race in a century. COVID-19 has revealed that a virus can affect not only our physical health but also our ability to cope with the psychological impact in its wake.” Thomas spent 2021 working collaboratively to create art that is a community based response to the pandemic.

Find out more about Chip’s work on his website on social media @jetsonorama
Music featured: "To Never Forget the Source" by Sons of Kemet