Artistic Statement for The Nadia Series
Like a raging wind senselessly spinning a weather vane before a violent storm, so is the sound of cries from a nearby makeshift camp before an invasion of an enemy. They're back! Men from their own country who are consumed in a civil conflict.
RUN!!! HURRY! Grab the children! Someone help grandmother! Who has the baby? This Way! Faster! RUN!!!!
Deafening sounds of gunfire and explosions increase. Screams are heard from the defenseless. Fear silently grips their pounding hearts. Leaving any possessions they may have, their hands nervously shake as they snatch their young and old. Throats are dry and breathing is hard. Like a nightmare, one never seems to run fast enough from danger. How many times have they already run? Survival demands they must run.
Danger feverously dominates their mind, soul and spirit. Fear of capture, mutilation, rape, and torture race across their sun scorched faces. Safe places destroyed. Loved ones killed. No food. No water. No shelter. No resource for refuge. No sign of hope.
Latin word for hope is SPES.
Put the prefix "de" in front results in the word "despair".
Despair means without "hope".
Nadia in Slavic means HOPE.
To have hope is to look at the future optimistically. The images of my work are of women who have survived even though all flickering of optimism has all but been extinguished. They prevail despite horrific circumstances, great loss and complete despair. What is the hope to those who have never experienced it? What does it feel like? Who is the face of hope?
Women for Women International provide women survivors of war, civil strife and other conflicts with tools and resources to move from crises and poverty to stability and self-sufficiency, thereby promoting viable civil societies. They give a real glimmer of hope.
Several pieces of artwork in this series are part of "Through her Eyes", a global art project benefiting Women for Women International. Fifty percent of all proceeds from sales of these works will be donated to the organization.
The Nadia Series is dedicated to Nadine Manion, who along with her husband, Tom, travels yearly to deliver the message of hope.
