Artist Statement

Meanwhile

Evie Joy

My artwork is based on Russia's and Ukraine's flags. First, I painted the background black, then I dipped my paintbrush in lots of paint and then into the water. Next, I moved my paintbrush in circular motions, spreading out the watered-down paint throughout the canvas. When I finished painting both of the flags, I took a different paintbrush and started drawing the little people. After that, I painted what was happening to them: people were burned, cut, whipped, starved, waterboarded, and electrocuted. When people look at my art, I don't want them to see only the countries but the people of the nations.

Everyone knows about the Russian and Ukrainian wars today; it's a very contemporary issue in our world. Though, only some know about the effects on the citizens of these countries. Russian and Ukrainian civilians have been taken from their homes and tortured all throughout this war. These people are kept in small rooms with other innocent citizens of their country. There is hardly any lighting or food, and they are even forced to go to the bathroom in these rooms (with no toilet.) I wanted people to see the pain and suffering these people are going through when they look at my art.

When creating this piece, I kept one thing in mind: what these people are going through. It was hard to replicate this since I am lucky enough to have never experienced these feelings. I want to raise awareness of the problems our world still has today. Not many people would expect torture to occur in modern countries. By looking at my art, I hope people will be aware of people's pain.