HOPE
Hope is what makes people step into boats
-Tommy Wieringa
Hope is my interpretation of the imposed theme Light of my college graduation project, which I linked to the refugee crisis of 2016.
Following in the footsteps of my favourite painter Rinus Van De Velde, I made a drawing with charcoal. My painting depicts many refugees who are walking in a large hilly open field and are all looking at one point at the horizon. Apart from a treacherous sky we cannot see what’s happening beyond the horizon. The image illustrates that the refugees do not know what will happen on their long journey. Neither do they realize the risks and dangers they’ll have to face at sea and on the hinterland. They only hope to find a place of peace and happiness, provided such a place exists. It is this feeling of hope what makes people step into boats.
With respect to the composition I was looking for a strong image that makes the spectator stop and become part of the refugees in that large open field. That’s also why I decided to make my work on a 4 by 1,80 meter surface. I have sought inspiration by artists like Pugliese, Géricault, Ai Weiwei, Juliaan Lampens, Banksy and Stephan Vanfleteren.
I worked with the technique of charcoal because it is perfect to provide contrast between white and black and so it gives a more dramatic feel to the light representing hope.
The canvas is made of MDF on which I applied a fresco technique. The painting is presented on a standard of 0,60 meter high, so that the main characters look you right in the eye.
The image is figurative. My work does not depict the people as such but focusses on the stories behind them: For whom or what do they flee? Why do they flee? What are they thinking of? What do they expect?
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