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| "They Came with Little But Their Hopes and Dreams" © 2017 Sheryl Karas |
"They Came With Little More Than Their Hopes and Dreams." The latest painting I've been working on. Yes, it's a political piece—it's hard to think about anything but politics in the time of Trump! And, of course, it is about immigrants with "head scarves" but I wanted to make the point that this isn't about Muslims! So many female immigrants from so many different cultures have come to this country wearing kerchiefs on their heads—my Jewish grandmother, escaping the pogroms in Russia at the turn of last century, most likely included. The magenta energy lines are winds of change. Blackbirds (in some culture, I forget which one) were thought to offer protection on a difficult journey. Baby birds also represent pure potential—the potential to fly, for example, if they are cared for while they are young. I also realize that the people are made to look like wooden marionettes on some level. I kept attempting to change this—I would make the eyes smaller, make the faces more classically proportional (realistic) and then change it back! Same thing with the bird. In the end I decided that my psyche was wishing to express the "puppets on the world stage" aspect of refuge crises. They're real people—one is deliberately looking straight at you—who have been made into symbols for political gain.
This piece is available. It is 24" x 30" acrylic on canvas.
