Toil With Strife
( Size: 51" x 74" Oils )
The legacy of the Nazis, Dachau in Bavaria 1933 to 1945, Auschwitz in southern
Poland and Belson, just to name a few. To put you in the picture those notorious
camps were responsible for the slaughter of 20 million human beings, they arranged
ordinary peoples lives with terror, from thieves, murderers, homosexuals,
undesirables, 14 million of them. The other 6 million being taken from the JEWISH
denomination of towns and cities and these ghettos were systematically wiped out.
Subjects in the painting:
Black Skeleton like Figure
Represents the people within the camp.
Ghost like Figures
Represents the living horror of controlled genocide.
The Green Grass
Represents how the S.S., through propaganda, kept the holocaust
in progress, away from their own people and the rest of the world.
The Skull
Represents the ultimate sacrifice, death by Cyclon "B" inhalation
then a further humiliation, the body is divested of all recyclable material, teeth,
hair etc.; then burnt.
Buildings and Chimneys
Represent; the abattoirs of death.
Blue Sky over skull
Represents looking aloft on every days awakening, the light and
warmth from the sun maybe gave them the hope, that just maybe their liberation
would that day be forthcoming.
The Indians Head
As smoke from a chimney, JUST to put things into perspective,
the early colonisation of the United States of America took the lives of
45 million Indians, complete nations annihilated, their cultures and history
wiped out for ever more. This being the act of 'civilised' men, and yet again with a
Christian background and upbringing.
The Devilish Head
Represents the horror of man's disregard for life and the basic
human rights of his fellow man.
Elephants
Synonymous with a good memory, let's not forget the mistakes man has
made throughout our brief history..
Kabal, Lebanon
And in other war torn cities of the world, people are living
underground in basements and car parks as a way of life.
Children knowing very little, only the strategy of war, hatred, starvation and
poverty. Coupled with a nagging constant fear and panic on hearing the noise
of whistling mortar, shell and small arms fire...
Political and religious warring factions who, by their own greed and megalomaniac
desires have conditioned their own people from birth, to hate, abuse and terrorise
each other to a point that death is inevitable, they become fanatical.
Tower with Two Red Figures
Mothers protecting at all costs the little they
possess, clinging to life under hopeless odds.
Crocodile and Animal Figures
Represents the waiting vultures armed
with a religion and a machine gun, only too pleased to slaughter and martyr the
innocent to further the cause.
Ant like Figure with Baby on its back
The fleeing of the masses, becoming stateless,
demoralised broken refugees.
And like so many times before, a prayer to their god falls on deaf ears,
Apathy, the end product of all wars...
Dinosaur, Ape, Table & Chair plus an Apple
The time span between the birth of
our planet to present day is calculated roughly at about 500 million years.
And first, life in and from the sea emerged,
The written word of the bible quotes 6 thousand years, the garden of Eden, the
temptation portrayed by an apple. A religion steeped in dogma and rhetoric,
hypothetically speaking six days for the creation would have been totally
inadequate, the seventh day being one hell of a rest day ?
The Figures on the Cross
Represents a man and a child, the child being the
bloodline maybe of Christ, and who knows may be with us to the present day.
Remember the eleventh and twelfth centuries, the crusades and the search for the
Holy Grail. Gallantly into battle with bible and cross arrogantly displayed on
their battle dress. It is said Jesus as a man died for us, but how many people
have died in the name of Jesus ? Since his death man has lived in his shadow for
nearly two thousand years.
Light Blue Shape of a Man lying down
Blue being the favoured colour of the sea,
from whence man started on his journey through time. White or Black, Brown or
Yellow, it's apparent that a man's colour can soul destroying, especially when two
colours take each other on at war, South Africa being a perfect example.
MAYBE OUR PLANET NEEDS A GLOBAL CATASTROPHE,
TO UNITE ALL OUR PEOPLE IN ONE COMMON AIM,
TO SURVIVE PEACEFULLY, TOGETHER AS ONE ?
The Elephant and the Stairway
The stairway represents the arduous struggle of
mans ideals - to achieve utopia, whether it is materialistic, religious, political
or just being conscious of the world and nature around us.
The elephant we associate with never forgetting, it depicts just that, we should
not forget the legacy history has contrived. People must learn by the mistakes
of their forefathers,
Face in the Rib Cage
A sad face, a feeling of despair, a stomach empty like that
of many a third world country. Ethiopia being the most appalling, especially
when the western world has the power and resources to alleviate this tragedy.
There are western Christians without conscience, they hold these peoples lives
in gigantic grain and food mountains, just to keep prices at stock market level
they have sent the third world an holocaust on an unprecedented scale, the W.H.O.
hold the key.
Triangular Pink Face over Black Skull
In my opinion this shows that most people
have two sides to their personality, a smiling face does not necessarily mean
that you're happy, and both men and women sometimes cry to show joy.
Most human beings viewed from point of their outer shells, look quite the norm
but inside they are tense, stressful, strung out, leading to totally irrational
behaviour and paranoia. I have often wondered, does being a psychiatrist make
one immune from mental disorder.
Man in Green
Wearing a Pink hat, he's planting rice. YES, it's a Chinaman, born
into hardship, his right leg stretched out as if he is balancing on one leg. I
have simply tried to depict him holding up the burden of his culture, his
history, his family in a never ending downward spiral, scratching a meagre living
out of nothing, but he perseveres, humble, head held high, PROUD..
Lighthouse
With figure beneath, leading to body straddling mountains and village,
represent the concern for the tribes living deep in the Amazonian rain forests
of Peru, their lives and cultures threatened with extinction from outside influences.
With the building of the TRAINS-AMAZONIAN RAILWAY their privacy and individuality
is being invaded and eroded by the need for raw materials and commodities.
The peace and tranquillity, the forests equilibrium with nature will become an
open wound exuding a FUNEREAL ODOUR of wanton destruction.
THE LIGHTHOUSE, is self explanatory, when will blinked man see the light and
save his environment, preserve man's basic rights, and stop raping this planet ?
Figure Holding a Spear
Simply if a man is threatened, he will instinctively
fight to the bitter end, for a birthright called "FREEDOM".
Man, Woman and Animals
Represent the continuous birth, life and inevitable
death, regeneration.
Panda, Elephant, Old Man in Blue
THREE million, no expense spared, to give the right
climate and conditions for the PANDAS to breed, stickers in car windows, i.e;
"save the Panda". This is man's logic, first man deprives the panda of its natural
environment; that is, if they survive being hunted and slain for their pelts. Then
when the Panda is on the verge of extinction MAN'S remorse bends over backwards
at great expense to save the creature.
The Elephant
This gentle giant seems to be at the top of the shopping list this
decade, and will for sure join its four legged friend the Panda into extinction.
Unless man comes to his senses.
The greed and avarice in wealthy man, to acquire trinkets and artefacts, keepsakes
made from the ivory tusks. CAN they not see that they may not be pointing the GUN
but their greed is surely buying the bullets.
The Old Man
Like the two examples above, this old fellow has nothing to offer, WHY ?
BECAUSE THE SOCIETY HE LIVES IN HAS HAD THE BEST YEARS OF HIS LIFE, he has now
become a burden, frail, needing constant attention. YES, you have guessed it,
has become a PENSIONER.
IT seems as long as you contribute in society you remain in society, retiring can
seriously damage your health...
The reasoning behind the Panda, Elephant, and old man is to show a comparison or
parallel with levels of awareness, to physical and mental cruelty.
So, as for example, does the elephants plight , have level par with POL-POT's
regime in Cambodia, or the Pandas struggle for existence, say, with the controlled
starvation of the Sudanese and Ethiopian people of Africa.
The old placed on the scrap heap to vegetate, with their right to work taken away.
Existing on a paltry sum called the retirement pension, for those without savings
life becomes intolerable and degrading.
ALL the above examples, no matter to what level or extent the misery, all
are equally inhuman and deplorable.
Half Body of Kangaroo
With arm protruding from body holding Boomerang, and face
drifting off above. This represents the plight of the ABORIGINES and KANGAROOS.
As history shows us they were the first inhabitants of AUSTRALASIA FOUND IN
POSSESSION by the colonists of the early British Empire.
Bowler with Legs and Horns
Represents the continuing dominant white supremacy,
a bureaucratic governing body hell bent on keeping the true Australian a second
class citizen, with a lifestyle comparative to the Black ghetto backwater
communities of the United States of America around the earlier part of this
century.
Air Baloon and head, with Mouth Agape
Depicts the blinkered politicians views
and thoughts over the plight of the Aborigines are skyward, totally in the clouds.
THE mouth agape depicts the hurt and horror the governmental politician would
endure, IF by wind of change the Aborigines were given equal status
THE ESSENCE OF PROGRESS IS CHANGE
Skull, Figure, Springboard & Trident
This represents the evil forces at work
in the world today. Their covert operations assisting man from one crisis to
another. The Trident, symbolising good and bad, the three prongs of the trident
say as to the Holy Trinity, as to on the other hand the Trident can become a
symbol of devilment, war, hatred and apathy.
Dark Blue Fish
Represents the SEA FROM WHERE ALL LIFE OWES ITS EVOLUTION TO DATE.
Yellow Ducks Head
Bird in flight, soaring. I see this has the ability to reach
great heights mentally and this will enable to evaluate and give sound judgement,
from a great distance on mans inevitable present downward spiral into oblivion.
Elelphant's Trunk, Tusks, Gun Barrels, Rhino & Eagle Head
All represent the
unnecessary slaughter of animals for gain.
Man on Horseback, Shield
Represent bringing to the forefront all the secret
societies, so "hush hush" to the ordinary man, societies stemming from the early
11th and 12th centuries, i.e.. The Knights Templers, hospitalers etc; these the
defenders of Christendom around the time of the Crusades,
Abstract Red Bird
Situated at base of shield, represents the creature synonymous
with extinction, the DODO. Probably the first creature man exhausted, giving it
the honour of distinction, to be the first to be forced by man to extinction.
Traffic Lights
Red
Atop the process by which all creatures are systematically
USED and ABUSED.
:Amber
We should with concern take time out, evaluate our present world-wide
policies on issues of ecology.
:Green
One of two things. Firstly, the horror at which man is using up the earth's
resources at an alarming rate. Secondly Green is the flavour of the day politically
speaking, people are now extremely conscious of the crisis of using our planet
as a dustbin for industrial and human EFFLUENT.
Blue River & Symbols
Represents China, and the horror we have all witnessed
recently. A new chapter in their struggle has not been extinguished by a
strong-arm tactics onslaught. TYRANTS cannot rule by the sword forever, history
can bear witness to that.
Black Skeleton like Figure
It's arms, one to the neck, the other to the stomach
of a figure arched over. The hair of the figure over the water represents the
third world power struggles, indiscriminately manipulating, complete nations and
most abhorrent using; starvation as a political means to war i.e., ETHIOPIA, THE
SUDAN, CAMBODIA, VIETNAM, ANGOLA and some SOUTH AMERICAN countries, are just but
a few on record.
The Sun, Blue Sea, Clouded Sky, Palm Tree
If man changes his ways our planet
could be the paradise everyone could share.
Many people's idea of heaven could so
easily become a reality on earth....
E.W.Powell 1991.
Complexity comment:
The Earth has more than enough resources for all it's peoples and animals.
The sunlight landing on the Earth can supply renewable energy
for millions of years, the vegetation and bacteria available now can supply
the food needs of a planet wide population easily, if properly utilised. The future
nanotechnology can supply any envisionable material needs on a planetary
free basis if we so desire.
It is time to cease the primitive squables for economic supremacy and
embrace the paradise that is already possible. Man needs to grow up,
he has been in spotty adolescence for too long, throwing tantrums and
demanding his 'rights' to freedom. We are already free, we can grow
with education and mutual help and make the above a reality.
We can change the world to put people, not things, first.
Demand it.
Page Version 1.1 October 1998
