by Danielle Harth
8x10"
oil on canvas
I was told that the children often feel that they don’t have someone who loves them, and in the original photos they had such an empty look in their eyes. Sri Lanka is not a country that I often think about in my existence as a privileged Black American, because I haven’t had any substantial interaction with Sri Lankan people nor education about the culture or country’s history, but I will change that.
My idea of social action is when a person challenges themselves to act as an advocate on behalf of someone who can’t or does not have the means to change their situation on their own. I have been holding on to this boy’s photo for a while because it touched my heart to know that he doesn’t feel loved. So I made this portrait to recreate him with an animated companion to show him love.