Open Your Eyes - Marquelase Silverman

Acrylic Paint
40" x30"
Proceeds go to the Alachua County Community Remembrance Project
 
"My painting is of a little girl being inducted into the Klu Klux Klan by her parents and family of Klansmen. She is crying because she is sad for her family, whom she loves, but they just can't seem to love others who don't look like them. Her parents loom over her in black and white to show the darkness they are consumed in. The little girl is trying to show them just a little bit of light with the writing on her cloak in color. Her use of words and drawings is how she copes with all of the hate surrounding her and her feelings of confusion. The background has words in dark color that you can only see if you look closer. I use color to emphasize the light of the future and how we can create the momentum for people to have a conversation about how we see people, not just in black or white, and the hate that comes with viewing people that way. With a small bit of light we can see if we try. Open your eyes - What do you see?"