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"A Show Of Respect"
I once believed that as a little Canadian woman artist
of no consequence, I couldn't do anything to change
big things like war. I wrote to Noam Chomsky asking
what I could possibly do. His answer was "There
is no such thing as a little person of no consequence".
His advise strengthened my resolve. And so, I took a
year from my life and set to work to bring the children
of war to my canvas for all to see.
I hope to inspire people to use their own talents to
help end war.
War Child Series
"A Show Of Respect" is a
body of work painted for the children of war. This exhibition
is comprised of ten large oil paintings. It underscores
the violation of these children’s basic human
rights. Each painting depicts a child from a different
country and chronicles ways that war effects children.
Children die, children are forced to become soldiers,
children are captured and sold into brothels and children
are displaced and spend their young lives (often their
whole lives) as refugees.
I sought to compose these paintings with extreme sensitivity
to the children involved, wanting viewers drawn into
the paintings, not repelled by them. A major component
of each piece is the inclusion of one of the articles
of "The Universal Declaration Of Human Rights".
These articles are painted on the canvas in the language
of the child depicted in the painting. Beside each painting
in the exhibit is the translation of the article into
English as well as the inspiration for the painting
itself.
It is my hope that these paintings will help bring
awareness to the plight of these children and help people
reaffirm their commitment to peace.
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Title: "Shamrocks for Danny" Media: "Oil on Canvas"
Universal Declaration of Human Rights... Article: #12
Written on this canvas in the language: "Irish Gaelic"
English Translation: "No-one should be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks on his honour and reputation. Everyone has a right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks."
Inspiration for this painting: . The "Troubles"
started 3,000 lives ago in Ireland and continued for
30 years. This little girl lays shamrocks beside her
brother's coffin. Do you think he was killed by a Protestant
bomb? A Catholic rock? A British bullet? It really doesn't
matter, does it? A little life is lost, a little sister
grieves, and the seeds of her own hate are sown.
Recommended:
http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/bibdbs/bibliography/
Title: "Why Do You Come?" Media: "Oil on Canvas"
Universal Declaration of Human Rights... Article: #3
Written on this canvas in the language: "Pipil"
English Translation:"Everyone has a right to life, liberty and security of person"
Inspiration for this painting:In 1981, the US trained Atlacatl battalion of the Salvadoran Army massacred 900 people in the village of El Mozote. A reporter from the New York times named Raymond Bonner was fired for trying to report it. The villagers were uninvolved in the war and some had taken refuge there against an offensive against the FMLN. The United Nations conducted an investigation and produced a document called the "The Truth Report" from which I quote: "During the morning, they proceeded to interrogate, torture and execute the men in various locations. Around noon, they began taking the women in groups, separating them from their children and machine-gunning them. Finally, they killed the children. A group of children who had been locked in the convent were machine-gunned through the windows. After exterminating the entire population, the soldiers set fire to the buildings." The job of the government "Death Squads" was to terrorize the population so they would not support the FMLN. They would often come to the homes of the villagers at night and take one or more family members away. More often than not the terror included the death or torture of innocent villagers. The entire summary of the case can be read at http://www.icomm.ca/carecen/page61.html
Recommended:
http://globetrotter.berkeley.edu/people/Danner/1993/truthelmoz01.html
Title: "Only A Child" Media: "Oil on Canvas"
Universal Declaration of Human Rights... Article: #5
Written on this canvas in the language: "Spanish"
English Translation: No-one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment or punishment.
Inspiration for this painting: Hundreds of thousands of Columbians have been forced to flee their homes in search of safety. Paramilitary groups from all sides of the conflict are guilty of the mutilation, rape and murder of Civilians. Columbians are not allowed to leave the country so they become internally displaced. Fleeing their rural homes with their children, abandoning their livestock and possessions, and try to find refuge in the slums and shantytowns surrounding towns and cities. Internally displaced women and children are at risk fo being sexually abused, raped or forced into prostitution because of their social, psychological and economic condition. Young girls and children are often captured, enslaved and forced into prostitution.
Recommended:
http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGAMR230482004
http://www.hrw.org/reports/2003/colombia0903/10.htm#_Toc37
Title: "Wounds" Media: "Mixed Media (Oil, Acrylic, Bandages)"
Universal Declaration of Human Rights... Article: Preamble
Written on this canvas in the language: "Russian"
English Translation: In the preamble to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (explaining why this Declaration was necessary), there is the phrase that says: "Whereas disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind...
Inspiration for this painting: A baby is no place for a bullet... nor the shrapnel from a land mine. In most wars, there is a constant disregard for civilian lives, including babies. Civilians are actually "targeted" in Chechnya as a way of terrorizing the people in order to stop them from trying to break away from Russia. Olara Otunnu, the United Nations special representative for children in armed conflict, said land mines had killed or injured several thousand children in Chechnya. At the time, he estimated that half a million land mines had been planted in Chechnya -- making it "one of the most land-mine polluted zones in the world... very much up there with Afghanistan, Angola, and Sri Lanka."
Recommended:
http://www.hrvc.net/main.htm
Title: "Are We Home?" Media: "Oil on Canvas"
Universal Declaration of Human Rights... Article:
#15
Written on this canvas in the language: "Dinka"
English Translation:
1: Everyone has a right to a nationality
2: No-one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality,
nor denied the right to change his nationality.
Inspiration for this painting: Since the outbreak
of the conflict in Darfur 200,000 refugees, the majority
of whom are women and children, have fled across the
Sudan border into neighbouring Chad. Children probably
suffer the most from disease and starvation.
The total number of people in the world
displaced by conflict is close to 35 million 75-80%
of displaced people are women and children.
Aid agencies do all they can, while
politicians make (or don't make) the decisions that
affect them. Life is hard in the desert where sandstorms
flay the skin in the dry season and torrential rains
flood the tents in the wet season. Life expectancy is
46 years old. The aid group, Doctors Without Borders
says that in many cases family and friends where butchered
right before their eyes and that many of the refugees
are traumatized and suffer from anxiety, panic attacks,
sleep disorders and depression. Dinka is a language
of the southern blacks who have inhabited the land from
time in memorial. These people traditionally raise cattle
and have small farms. They would just like their peaceful
lives back.
Recommended:
http://sora.akm.net.au/srca.php
http://www.sudanreach.org/
All the artwork shown on the site is
"Copyright" Helen Broadfoot 2006
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