During the start of the pandemic, I had been thinking a lot about the lack of love and mistreatment of animals, caused by humans. During lockdowns there had even been a surge of rhinos being poached for their horns since it is easier to commit these atrocities without rangers and tourist presence. I always liked the idea of dying animal horns pink to dissuade poachers from killing these beautiful creatures.
The color of pink set the tone for this painting. I started to spread the background with this comforting color and it became the backdrop of Neapolitan ice cream. Coincidentally, Italy had been the country hit the hardest at the time. It started to resemble a flag. I have never been a fan of flags since I feel they divide, rather than unite us, but if there’s going to be a flag, it might as well be the color of ice cream.
I also like the idea of red(blood as a life force) mixed with white(purity and light) to accent the painting. Pink evokes love and compassion. The kids and rhino are celebrating life together. They are wearing birthday hats rather then masks. And if we all love unconditionally and respect each other, we can too. No domination or ego-driven behavior.
During the pandemic, a common comment that was going around was that Mother Nature was mad at humans. That it was as if we were all sent to our rooms to think about our wrongdoings. This time to contemplate was a great breeding ground to experience a “rebirth”. Ideally, this awareness could help to change our behavior, that obviously has not been working for all living beings. We must live in harmony with love and compassion. After all, “When animals have room to roam, they don’t pass infections to humans.”
The bandaids are a sign of healing that is taking place. We as humans, not only have to be aware of our mistakes, but make changes – so that we be can be on the mend. Survival of the fittest means to have love and to live love for all living beings.
