I made this piece in response to the genocide happening in Palestine. I was horrified by what I was seeing: bodies sprawled on the ground, families weeping and screaming for the world to hear them, children receiving surgery without anesthesia… the list goes on. And in the midst of all this, a complete disregard and lack of compassion from the Western world and leaders of our country.
I wanted you, the viewer, to witness a scene in Gaza right now. Everything around you destroyed, blood everywhere, people crying and mourning the loss of their loved ones. I wanted you to look directly at the children affected by this. To see them as humans, not numbers. I chose to place you behind the scope of a rifle because our country and world’s apathy toward Palestinian suffering is responsible for killing these children.
I also included symbols of resistance and hope. Despite their wounds, fear, and grief, the children are still standing before you—one of them even looking you dead in the eye. No matter how much the world turns against them, Palestinians will not abandon their land, people, or right to be free from occupation.
