The boy is my nephew called Carl. It was his 12th birthday and I had arranged to paint his portrait on the same day. Carl has ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) It means he found it difficult to sit still.
A cartoon film version of “Lord of the Rings” was being shown on TV that day and so I got the idea that this would help give him something focus upon while I drew him.
He had been given a rabbit from his mother (my sister) as a birthday present. My sister lived in Liverpool, England at the time and the year was 2003. Carl sat perfectly still while he watched the 4 hour long cartoon film but the bunny rabbit was another matter and kept on running across the sofa. By the end of the film I had more or less finished the painting except for putting in a few details.
First of all the sofa and the carpet both have bright eye clashing patterns. This helps to date and place the painting at specific time in history as well as giving a clue to the social trends. At that time in Liverpool, there was a social trend to have vibrant patterns on furniture and carpets in the home. People did not give any thought to how these patterns might go together and so most of the time they would clash terribly causing uneasy colour explosions.
Secondly, as we know, the painting was done on his birthday. If you look again you will see that the painting looks rather like a birthday card because of the glitter on the bunny rabbit. This was deliberately and done and meant as a specific comment.
Years ago I once worked at a greetings card company and when I created artwork, if there was any white space on it the company would put glitter on it. This would annoy the hell out of me so. As a way of balancing the matter I decided to use glitter on the white rabbit.
Now let us look at some details. We see that there is a cup of tea on the floor next to his foot. Look even close and we can see that his show lace is undone. Perhaps a child with ADHD, a child that finds it difficult to sit still, might be inclined to knock over that cup of tea on that nice new patterned carpet. He might forget to fasten their shoe laces or perhaps not fasten them out of protest.
Next the child we can see a tin of spray paint and the lid is red suggesting the paint is red. It is also at an angle so as to appear it might be pointing to the boy. Carl actually has blond hair and was not happy about having pose for me that day. In protest he had bought color hair spray that can be washed out and sprayed his hair red.
Now look at his finger nails. Carl had painted them black. Why? Well like all 12 year old boys he wanted to be 13. He wanted to be a teenager. He had a friend who was a 13 and was typically rebelling and had painted his nails black because he wanted to be a “goth”. Naturally Carl copied him. You can also see that he has a long metal chain and a metal bracelet - this was also part of the Goth style. However, even though Carl was trying very hard to portray the image of a rebel teenager, what reveals him is his bunny rabbit. Underneath all that rebel image lies the truth that he was still just a child who loves his pet bunny rabbit.
The story of Carl´s portrait seems simple enough and is perhaps a little comical. Indeed, many have commented that his face is rather “Charlie-Chaplin-like”. As is often said; behind every clown lies a tragic story, and this is also true of my nephew.
Carl´s mother was once married to violent man - more commonly known as a “wife-beater”. For years she kept this hidden and whenever I saw bruises on her arms or face she would say that she had fallen over or accidentally hit her head on something. Thankfully Carl´s father had not beaten his children but eventually violent people will always go too far and this is what happened with my sister.
One day I got a phone call from the hospital telling me that my name had been given as next of kin. My sister´s husband had punched her in the face knocking her down onto the floor. He then proceeded to stamp on her head while wear army boots. Neighbors heard my sister screaming and phoned the police. When the police they saw my sister lying unconscious in the floor her husband was arrested. An ambulance was called and she was in a coma for a number of days. She had to stay in hospital for several months in order to monitor her recovery and so I had to take care of my 4 year old nephew. Carl became quiet and withdrawn. Psychologists deduced that he had probably witnessed the attack and this was the reaction.
While Carl stayed in my home I tried to show him that not all adult males were the same as his father. I took him to the park to feed the ducks. I took him to the zoo and bought him ice-cream. I played lego with him and we made space ships. And I would read stories to him at bed time But still he never spoke a word. In fact he did not speak or almost 2 years. When his mother was well enough to come home we both thought he would return to his old self but he did not. I began visiting my sister every week so that Carl had some consistency in his life. Then one summer's day we were playing in the garden with some of his toy cars and suddenly he said;
“ This car looks the same as yours uncle Arthur”.
My sister was at the kitchen window and witnessed this small miracle and began to cry. I wanted to jump for joy but something told me to remain calm and act naturally. After that, little by little Carl began to speak more. By the time he turned twelve he was a normal boy who could not wait to be 13.
This was deliberate and is meant as a statement.
A child is delicate and easy broken. So is styrofoam/ polystyrene .
Who ever ends up owning this painting will need to take extra care it due to its delicate nature.
Just as we should do with our children.
A true work of art is never simple.
Look harder and you will always discover many levels hidden in full view to discover.
“Art is lie that helps us realize the truth.” Pablo Picasso
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