African Mother

MARY BACKS

ARTIST STATEMENT

In the summer of 2014, I was fortunate enough to go on a missions trip to Uganda. While I was there, I became fascinated with the people and their culture. I was inspired to share their stories through my artwork. This specific piece is about a caretaker at an orphanage. There, all of the caretakers are referred to as "mama". The subject of my piece was Mama Alice and she helped care for several children at the orphanage. She was a very quiet and tremendously kind woman. 

Using charcoal, I captured the sweet gentleness found in her expression. To tell her story, I used oil pastel for the background. The different waves and swirls represent the personalities of the many children she cared for. The orange and yellow smooth waves represent a boy named Joseph who was a mild tempered and quiet boy. The bright red swirls represent Vicky, who had an outgoing and spirited personality. Each line and shape tells the story of a different child that mama Alice looked after. I wanted to show how these children truly meant everything to her.