Social Injustice is the title given to paintings that explore conditions prevailing in society today. These conditions are unjust and unfair for large segments of society. The images of these transgressions have led to the creation of six paintings.
A total of six or eight individual panels make up a complete painting. Each panel varies in size from 9’’by 12” to 11” by 14” – the total painting extending to up to 96” in length. Individual images are complete paintings themselves pertaining to a singular form of social injustice. Hitched together in ano accordion like manner, unified, yet separate they explore the many facets of the same idea.
The first painting explores gun violence. Six paintings present images of Survivors of Gun Violence in places of worship, in social settings such as bars, restaurants, concerts and at a marathon. Survivors are also shown in educational settings such as schools and colleges. Showing survivors evokes the event of gun violence that has just taken place and the emotion of horror that follows.
Separation at the Border cries of a chasm that a separation creates between parents and children. Split up at our country’s borders children and parents are caged in wire cages or fortresses and prevented from seeing each other. As much as they desire to be near each other the wire cages keeps them isolated.
The Third image made up of eight paintings reflects on the incidence of sexual misconduct and violence against women, and the resultant action of thousands of protesters against it. Each of the eight paintings exhibits images of sexual misconduct and of protesters. The protesters wind there way through cities, avenues, and highways and visually unite the eight paintings. Both the sexual harassment and the protests are part of this painting entitled MeToo Movement.
The fourth painting is about Global Warming. Eight paintings explore the phenomena of greenhouse gases and global warming on the elements of nature. The first two paintings are regarding lack of rain leading to parched earth, drought and destroyed harvests. The next two show the effects of torrential rain leading to excessive tornadoes and hurricanes, storms, floods and landslides. Forest fires and the effects of pollution on the air we breathe comprise the duo of paintings that follow and the last two are concerning the warming of oceans, and melting of glaciers and icebergs.
Part of each image in the Global Warming painting is conceptualized with mythological or religious forms of gods or goddesses from various cultures. Venerating the gods and goddesses was a way of appreciating nature and preventing us from violating our natural resources – a belief of peoples of ancient religions and cultures.
Painting number five was propelled by the unrest, discontent, protest and riots that filled our mental and physical spaces. Specific episodes of anger, disorderly conduct and riots were the starting point for each of the eight images. Abstract in their construction, the images are connected by the swarms of protesters and rioters that wind in and out of imaginary landscapes and cityscapes. The eight part painting is titled Unrest, Protest and Riots.
The sixth image titled A Coronavirus Story paints a sequential narration of the virus among us in its initial year. The heaviness of the ICU’s, the isolation of the lockdown and the relief of zoom connections make up the initial four panels. Recovery in some cases and death in others is the next phase. The last panel hails the arrival of vaccines, the gradual opening of activities and of hope.
