Diedrick Brackens weaves tapestries that exist between figuration and abstraction, often engaging with histories that resonate with his experience as a gay Black man in the United States. a year of negotiations comes from a series Brackens made to reflect on how animals have often functioned as symbols across time and artistic disciplines. The serpent-like animal is wrapped around the silhouette of a figure, perhaps signifying internal struggles that can entangle and constrict.