Artist Statement:
Unrequited I gave; My gold. my jewels, My robes of emerald green. You took; My breath, my blood, My soul of purest white. I could not give enough. There is no more to take. It is your turn my love. Laurie O'Reilly I am an observer; by using paint, mixed media, and constructs, I become a story teller. Whether I am investigating emotional, physical or social problems, as an artist I construct. The need to problem solve drives my sensibilities, my thinking and my narrations. When, what I am observing in the present, whether vulnerable members of society, fragile eco systems, or mistreatment of the vulnerable, meshes with my past life experiences, I am motivated to devise artistic methods that can help me work through the angst that these overlaps bring to the fore, and tell the stories that I see and feel.
Artwork:
This piece speaks to the air that we are heating up, reconstructing and polluting instead of recognizing the vulnerable relationship that we have with earth's protective atmosphere. The title is a challenge and accusation from the next generation, calling on us for our shortsighted behavior.The shapes and colours speak to a simpler less complicated time. The air is hot and dry, The sun is blistering. There are three globes. The girl holds two. The smallest is the earth that we should have been protecting and passing on, the larger of the two shows desiccated continents. The butterflies also represent the death of that beautiful world that the young girl's generation thought they would inherit. The largest globe looms over the child's head. It is the earth that will rid itself of us.
