This painting should not be merely viewed under the lens of literalism; for literally, it speaks largely of the girl child abuse, the dark world of human trafficking and pedophilia.
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Material and mental poverty (on the part of the victims) and the culture of exploitation (on the part of the perpetrators) remains the driving force behind this social evil; fruit of the womb should be forbidden in the context of a girl child/bride.
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However, the bigger picture lies in the metaphorical depth of this simple piece of art. The complexity of modern slavery is so enormous that rarely anyone can stand to say "I'm not affected in any way", vast majority of us fit in the mix one way or the other.
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Several modern system has continually raped a minority within its context, the innocents and weak in various systems ( from political to religious, etc) that involves hierarchy, human cooperation and coexistence are being constantly milked and exploited for dubious gains.
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What's disheartening is not only pinned on the severity of modern slavery, but more also to the silence of the affected, and everyone capable of liberating another or contributes to an abolishing. It will be tempting to pretend and act unconcerned as long as we're not directly affected.
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"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.” ― Martin Luther King Jr.
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We must now continue to speak and act as voices and hands that raises the torch of liberty.
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For the artist, this is part of a large body of work on modern/mental slavery and I'll continue to work from my idea bank which includes Love, Fear and Slavery.
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- Israel P.
