I, Witness

In this companion exhibition to Voices Unbound, artist Tona Wilson brings forward stories from the thresholds of the justice system—spaces where meaning is translated, identities are negotiated, and silence often speaks volumes. Drawing from her decades-long career as a Spanish interpreter in courtrooms, jails, and immigration hearings, Wilson’s work—spanning painting, book arts, printmaking, and video—offers a rare and intimate view of lives shaped by law, language, and power. Through layered narratives and restrained gestures, I, Witness invites us to listen more closely to the spaces between words.

Tona Wilson is a multidisciplinary artist working in painting, book arts, printmaking, and video. Her art is deeply shaped by her many years as a Spanish interpreter in courtrooms, jails, prisons, and immigration courts. Drawing from anonymized sketches and writings she recorded during that time, Wilson creates layered narratives that explore the human impact of justice systems.

Her artist books Stories Behind Bars and Dress Code Strictly Enforced, both produced during residencies at Women’s Studio Workshop, reflect these themes, as does her video work—including Crossing Paths, a four-channel animation exploring immigration and migration in Seattle. She has also collaborated on video installations with poets, musicians, and fellow artists.

Wilson studied at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and later earned a degree in Spanish from Bard College. She lived in Buenos Aires before, during, and after Argentina’s 1976–1983 military dictatorship—an experience that continues to inform her work. She now lives with her wife in New Paltz and has recently returned to printmaking at WSW and the Neighborhood Print Studio in Kingston NY.