Bitterfruits, 2005-2009
I began drawing Bitter Fruits in late 2005, but began thinking about this piece from the day that the United States government, under the leadership of George W. Bush, illegally invaded Iraq in 2003; obligating thousands of American soldiers to risk, often sacrifice their lives.
At first I planned to create a small mold and cast a figure for every American killed. But then, each would be identical. Each victim had to be individually rendered. A drawing developed, using a roll of Rives paper 52” wide. Rows and rows of similar figures, but no two identical. Row after row, column after column. I used a Chinese scroll format, that unrolls to show the passage of time. There was one thousand dead as of September 2004, three thousand as of January 2007. By the time Barak Obama ended the United States participation in the war 4492 Americans had died. The scroll was over 24 feet long.
Charcoal and ink on paper, exhibited in the 2191 Days and Counting exhibition at PowerHouse Arena 2009, and First Presbyterian Church of the City of New York, 2008