About 76 years ago, The Second World War began. It was the beginning of massacre and terror. My painting is a song of grief to all that happened, things that I am aware I cannot fully grasp or understand.
Also inspired by the tragic news of the little Syrian boy that was found dead, I believe that this painting is a symbol of all the young souls that were sacrificed in the midsts of violence.
"The Little Girl" is a portrait of youth, purity and life that have been damaged under the distorted perception of a certain class of citizens. Her youthful beauty is no longer serene, but malformed. Hitler used to make little children learn in schools about the "mischievous" and "hateful jews", with their "long noses" and "bulky eyes". They even had a code for recognising them after their features.
The flowers, barely contained by her kerchief, are a symbol of life, of joy, barely contained, so specific to children. But the naturality is overshadowed by the metal bar, a symbol of torture and control. Like weed bursting through the cracks of a pavement, so are the wildflowers bursting through the cracks of the kerchief.