Protest art merging past and present conflicts created by Operation Metro Surge

Hannah Kovnar
Mon, 27 Apr 2026 22:29:15 +0000
Profiles

Art major Bryn Allyn is working on tying historical themes of revolution and class warfare into their art.

On a chilly February evening in the printmaking studio at Regis Center for the Arts, Bryn Allyn makes prints of hydras onto fabrics of all different bright colors, rolling the pure white ink onto a wooden carving before pressing it into the small 10-inch squares of thrifted pink cotton.

For the 26-year-old art student, the images of a serpent-like water monster with nine heads arose as protest art against Operation Metro Surge. Inspired by historical representations of hydras as a mockery of the working class, Allyn sought to reclaim the mythical creature as a symbol of strength in the fight against injustice.

“I’m intrigued by how people who revolt are compared to monsters, and how that might actually be a powerful symbol for change,” Allyn said.

Like in the myth of the hydra, when one member of the resistance is cut down, many more will return to take their place, galvanized by the loss — an apt metaphor for what occurred following the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti at the hands of immigration officers, Allyn said.

”Nobody is really safe from [ICE’s] oppression, or from the type of hate that they have,” said Allyn, who uses they/them pronouns. The hydra project is a part of Allyn’s capstone, the final project for art students, designed to be featured in a gallery exhibit at the end of the semester.

No choice but to make art

As thousands of federal agents descended on the Twin Cities at the start of the year, terrorizing immigrants and attacking protestors, Allyn said they had no choice but to make art in response to this moment. They were horrified, but not surprised by the violence and exploitation that emerged during the surge.

Although no one in Allyn’s immediate circle was threatened during the surge, Allyn said many artists have felt the ripple effects of immigration enforcement activity in the city. Coworkers of friends and roommates have expressed fears of being taken, prompting Allyn to channel concern and feelings of powerlessness into art — specifically printmaking.

Allyn fell in love with printmaking after taking classes in the medium and learning about processes like intaglio and lithography. Allyn’s art connects with history, particularly the historical use of fabric arts in protest movements. For their capstone, they researched the history of peasant revolutions during the 14th and 13th centuries that used fiber arts as a form of resistance.

During the Middle Ages, Allyn said, the peasant class was often portrayed as “monstrous,” or something to be feared. In reality, the primary cause of the English Peasant Revolt of 1381 was intense taxation by the noble class, while the average peasant was unable to afford food.

For Allyn, the parallels between then and now are clear: Today, the prices of everyday necessities like groceries and gas remain high, putting strain on a working class still recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic. As in the past, present-day protestors against ICE are frequently labeled as “domestic terrorists,” and immigrants that are frequently the targets of ICE’s animosity are characterized as “violent criminals” — similar to the “monsters” of the past.

Art as resistance

Bevan Breaux, a fellow art student at the university, said Allyn spends a long time on various museum websites looking through their historical archives and using that information as references for future art projects.

“They do a great job pulling from multiple sources of inspiration,” Breaux said.

With the importance of this moment, Allyn believes that art is a necessary part of resistance, as it encourages people to think more critically about the world around them and ask questions.

A central question of their work, they said, is the often-exploitative relationship between the working class and the ruling class.

“Why do we hate each other so much?” Allyn said. “And why do we not want to come together to create something so that we can have a better life?”

Allyn’s art will be on display at Regis Center for the Arts West from April 28 through May 7.