Artist Statement - What About the Kids?
This series is a statement about how children are forgotten when we, as a society, talk about war. The purpose of the coloured imagery with a silhouette of a child is to signify that this could be their future. Following the work of Kara Walker, having the children as silhouettes keeps them anonymous and allows the child to become the general child population. The silhouettes keeps the era in which these children live anonymous as well, allowing for the imagery of their future to be more of a threat. I feel that by having the kids playing while the disasters are happening emphasizes that they could be imagining this scenario or that they might not be fully aware of the disaster that is taking place. The subject of the future is touchy, no one knows what is going to happen even if there is a plan. I have used past events to portray the imminent danger the child might be in in their potential future. The World War II imagery was used because it was a war that was full of new technology and innovations, making it the most disastrous war. The imagery of a landscape from Chernobyl was to continue on in history in which new innovations can become disastrous. Nuclear weaponry, even though it existed in WWII, has become significantly more prominent. Children’s futures have already been affected by nuclear weaponry in places like Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and Chernobyl. The little girl floating by the ruins can be seen as having a glimpse at her own future or the ruins can be seen as a product of her imagination. Children are a sensitive subject, and using them in art must follow specific parameters. The art of Johnathan Hobin challenges the way we display children, and this is what I am attempting as well. By having children portrayed with images of disasters, I hope to convey a sense of discomfort in the viewer and force them to think about where children are during disasters and also force them to not forget about them.
This series is a statement about how children are forgotten when we, as a society, talk about war. The purpose of the coloured imagery with a silhouette of a child is to signify that this could be their future. Following the work of Kara Walker, having the children as silhouettes keeps them anonymous and allows the child to become the general child population. The silhouettes keeps the era in which these children live anonymous as well, allowing for the imagery of their future to be more of a threat. I feel that by having the kids playing while the disasters are happening emphasizes that they could be imagining this scenario or that they might not be fully aware of the disaster that is taking place. The subject of the future is touchy, no one knows what is going to happen even if there is a plan. I have used past events to portray the imminent danger the child might be in in their potential future. The World War II imagery was used because it was a war that was full of new technology and innovations, making it the most disastrous war. The imagery of a landscape from Chernobyl was to continue on in history in which new innovations can become disastrous. Nuclear weaponry, even though it existed in WWII, has become significantly more prominent. Children’s futures have already been affected by nuclear weaponry in places like Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and Chernobyl. The little girl floating by the ruins can be seen as having a glimpse at her own future or the ruins can be seen as a product of her imagination. Children are a sensitive subject, and using them in art must follow specific parameters. The art of Johnathan Hobin challenges the way we display children, and this is what I am attempting as well. By having children portrayed with images of disasters, I hope to convey a sense of discomfort in the viewer and force them to think about where children are during disasters and also force them to not forget about them.