acrylic and gouache; 16×20”
“I have a lot of people in my life that I care a whole lot for. I could never imagine how awful it would be to be told that the people I care so much about were being brutally and unjustly murdered. Not only that but also knowing that the whole world knows what’s happening to them and they are doing nothing to help them. That is the situation a lot of Palestinians are going through right now. I wanted my piece to show the resilience and persistence of the people of Palestine. I wanted the background and the building to look daunting and scary but also blend into the background, so I painted them using red and browns only. The olive branch in my piece is a symbol for resilience in Palestine. The branch and the boy in my piece are to show how resilient Palestinians are despite all the awful things being done to them.
What is happening between Palestine and Israel is not a war it is a genocide. If it was a war Palestine would have the same resources Israel has available to them to defend themselves and fight back, but they don’t. The people of Palestine are being killed and we need to do something about it.”
ARTIST BIO: Geny GALLARDO PERALTA is a grade 12 student at Butler Tech School of Art studying art under art teacher Mary Catherine Ruby.