Within the first mural pair, the smaller panel of the set titled, Peace and Harmony with Nature, we painted children as witnesses to the destruction of the environment - the burning of the rainforest, pollution in cities and oceans, and the slaughter of animals. We painted what the general public already knows – as a society we know that the world has pollution and that nature has been wounded. And like every one of us who has this awareness, my father was also concerned and still remains concerned about the environment. He painted these murals because of his care for the world. He was saddened by the destruction of the rainforest and the slaughter of whales. He was aware of endangered species, such as the wolf, snow leopard and the Quetzal.  He even realized that many plants are also endangered in some parts of the world, such as the Rosy Periwinkle that is used in medicine against disease

 

WHY THE COFFINS?

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Aware that many corporations are responsible for the destruction of the forests and oceans, my father had painted three concrete slabs to symbolize industry crushing the environment. While we were painting this panel, I pointed out to my father that not only nature and animals are affected by land development and exploitation -the destruction of the environment has also wiped out entire groups of people. It is well documented that certain tribes of Native Americans actually became extinct due to disease and the massacres committed in the 1600s through 1800s for the procurement of land. As descendents of surviving indigenous peoples of the United States, my father and I are greatly concerned that this event in history be remembered and not repeated.

Because of this conversation, my father painted images of indigenous individuals in coffins, slain by the hands of greed and racism. He painted an African young person holding beloved cultural artifacts and a Native American youth holding and cherishing the Iroquois Confederation Belt. He painted these images to illustrate how resources, culture, and societal contributions were stolen in order to benefit an oppressive, dominant society. We also discussed the genocide in Bosnia and Serbia that happened in the 1990s, so we chose to paint a European child. We were touched by the struggles of our European brothers and sisters - Christians, Jews, and Muslims - being persecuted for their religion and ethnicity. The children standing above the coffins are deeply saddened as they see that mankind has killed these young people and the beautiful nature and animals around them.

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MAYAN ARTIFACT

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        In the same panel, Peace and Harmony with Nature, one of the children witnessing these tragedies is Guatemalan girl. She is holding a broken artifact of a Mayan motif.  The symbols on the Mayan artifact are actually two people speaking to each other. They are holding images of a butterfly and a flower, two symbols from numerous cultures around the world, meaning transformation, beauty, and nature. My father depicted a child from Guatemala, a country that has faced much brutality and war. She is holding something special to her people saved from a burning rainforest.