Description
I was struck by the image of this child. I was captured by his suffering gaze. I am Venezuelan and one of my personal missions is to make my country known through my works: “The forgotten ones”.
The child in this painting belongs to an indigenous tribe, the Yanomami. This tribe lives in the Amazon, the lungs of the Earth. They do not distinguish borders, simply the forest is their land.
Rainforest that is turning into savannah.
The Amazon has dangerously shrunk due to fires caused by the exploitation of the area for agricultural and livestock activities. Also, legal and illegal mining for gold whose price has increased by 35% during the Covid-19 pandemic. Altogether these actions are impoverishing the lands.
These activities directly affect the reserves of indigenous communities, with the approval of some governments.
Look at the tiny hands of those who work instead of playing. These same hands that seem to pray. The presence of a bird in the arms creates a unique combination: man & nature.
Ugly, tired, begging hands. My pictorial research also consists in the search for the perfect imperfection of the body.
His gaze is no longer proud but anguished. Meaning “look at me, I am here, don’t forget me”.
