Caravan Series
Caravan Series Statement:
The "Caravan" series are carborundum prints inspired by the shape created when people wrap themselves in blankets while walking, as seen in news photos of the homeless, refugees, migrants and those impacted by natural disasters. These colorful blankets are decorated with tulip-shaped flowers. Tulips, in this series, can be seen as a metaphor for all the so-called "foreigners" who arrive at our borders, wrapped with innate beauty and potential to flourish. Blankets, a staple in our modern imagination as the building block of a child’s living room forts, is a vehicle for shelter, warmth, protection, intimacy and mourning.
The artist in me is attracted to the abstract shapes with their graphic potential and iconic possibilities. The mother in me is preoccupied with questions of warmth and safety, especially of the children I see in the news and our own streets. The empath in me is overwhelmed with my feelings of grief and concern, especially in light of the recent earthquake impacting Turkey and Syria. Creating this series is an ongoing cathartic experience that helps me process the endless numbers of displaced people and gives me a way to use my imagination to bring them all to a place of safety and beauty.
About Tulips:
According to Brittanica's passage on tulips, "Tulips were introduced to the Western world by the Viennese ambassador to Turkey, Augier Ghislain de Busbecq, who wrote of seeing the plants in Edirne, Turkey, in 1551 and who later sent some seeds to Austria. The arrival at Antwerp in 1562 of a cargo of tulip bulbs from Constantinople (now Istanbul) marked the beginning of the tulip horticultural industry in Europe. A speculative frenzy over tulips in the Netherlands in 1633–37 is now known as the Tulip Mania."