The content of this piece addresses the ongoing situation of poverty and pain on the boarders of Central American Countries. At these boarders the social conditions of the neighboring countries seem to mesh into a feeling of dire need and despair. There is nowhere to run for these people that are predominately children. This piece attempts to show the naive side to the poverty and also the ignorance of the first world life that doesn't hesitate at the eyes of a child in need.
It is helpful to understand that I recently returned from a trip to Central America where I spent four months visiting and heightening my awareness of Latin cultures and situations. This piece exemplifies a personal experience I had with a young man on the boarder between Nicaragua and Honduras, two extremely poor countries. Because of complications with the boarder control 'oficiales' I was able to really grasp this child's situation and need. This moment etched a painful image forever in my heart.
The child is presented in the foreground of the composition to draw you in with his eyes wide with innocence and desperation. His expression is soft and subtle. He doesn't see the raging fire that webs around him or what lies behind him on the other side because he is the moment. Behind the web of flames the images present a metaphor for the first world that surround this situation. Tall Skyscrapers with electricity and a peach doused with cream linger beneath a slightly wicked a warped sky. These image are distorted in mockery at the comparisons between two realms of reality, on the one side urgency to survive for the child, and on the other progress and expansion of the privileged world. The child is the only image created realistically with outreached hands. The diagonal direction of the flames divides the composition into the real and surreal situations of that moment. The dancing images on the child's head symbolize his geographical location. The banana tree, solider, and malnourished mutt were reoccurring symbols throughout my trip.
Etching was used in the black charcoal background to create the flames and to demonstrate to some extent how a memory is created in the ones mind. Several layers were used to create texture and worked surface. The child was created with light pastels and charcoal to make a soft surface that is drawn forward in the composition. The background recedes with its dark grays and black created with chalk, charcoal, pencils, and liquid.
© Rachel Mclntire 1998
Art
58 | Digital Painting
Electronic Media | Department
of Art and Art History | CSU Chico