2022

Oil on Linen

72" x 48"

*If interested in purchasing this work of art, please contact Leigh@LeighBrooklyn.com

*Professionally Framed

Inspired by Michelangelo’s sculpture, “Pieta,” where Mary cradled Jesus’ lifeless body after being removed from the cross, my “Pieta” painting is a depiction of the touching relationship between a mother and her child and touches on society’s conflicted relationship with the Black community during this turbulent time. Congruent with my women militia style pieces, I decided to paint a friend of mine with her son in the style of “Pieta,” in this life-sized apocalyptic scene. With the ongoing battle for racial equality and the growing number of shootings of young Black men in our society, I developed a greater commitment to representing the Black community in my work. During the chaos of the COVID-19 pandemic, it felt like the perfect time to depict a strong, young black mother looking shell-shocked from battle, in a quiet moment, as she mourns the death of her son. The pandemic disproportionally affected the Black and Hispanic communities, adding even more significance to my interpretation.

There is a sense of peace, trauma, exhaustion and uncertainty—very relevant for the time. She wears military boots, a helmet and dog tags, with some removed military gear around her, showing her vulnerability and exhaustion. With heavenly light shining down on and around her, your attention is drawn to this moment of calm in the midst of the turmoil surrounding her. The young boy in her arms is around the same age of Tamir Rice, a young Black boy who was shot by the Cleveland Police in 2014. Drawing on the social and societal relevance of this modern-day interpretation, I hope it inspires people to consider when society starts to lose their empathy for people. At what point does this innocent child grow up and become someone to fear? Politicians claim that society should care about children’s well-being, but at what age does the compassion stop? In 2020, George Floyd called out for his mother as he was being murdered by police. People never stop being their parents’ children, and to a parent, they will always see their child as the little boy or girl they once were. They will still hold them and cradle them just as Mary did with Jesus.