“Stripped”

Pencil on illustration Board

30” x 40”

Although we humans are capable of so much good, in our history we certainly have wallowed in the opposite. The idea for this drawing came from two sources; one, photos and images of the holocaust, these mass graves of men, women and children have haunted me my whole life. The roots vaguely touch on the figurative and symbolize genocide in all its guises, and yet the destruction of nature and humans parallel one another. Roots do not grow in this fashion though it's subtle enough to bring an uncertainty to the drawing.

One eye brings the viewer into the picture plane in a somewhat accusatory way, while the other eye looks beyond the viewer, into an uncertain future. The crow and skulls act as an anchor compositionally and conceptually. The second source of course is what happing around us today, especially in Iraq, as an artist I must speak out, but it’s not natural for me to be loud, propagandist or choosing the easy road of "shock art" but hidden behind veils of private symbolism.

This was my thinking; a drawing like this should not however dictate but start a process of investigation by the viewer. When all is said and done and it hangs on a gallery wall the only hint to “my truth’ is its title “Stripped” and hopefully brings a moment of interest and contemplation to the viewer.

Thanks you all so much for looking and some great questions

Armin