Every Cloud has a Silver Lining

It is almost strange to me that I take peoples suffering and use it for creative thinking but in this way, I can show others all of the trouble the Sudanese people live through every day. The Sudanese strife can be portrayed in many ways but I chose to show that for every bad encounter, a good one trails closely behind it. Many, many things happened to the Sudanese Lost Boys; loss of loved ones and homes and war trodden dreams but now that they have been given the opportunities to not only give themselves a new start but to help their families and friends back home. Keeping in mind that life in the United States is no easy task, many of the Lost Boys have pulled through with each other through thing such as sports and assimilation centers, after all, there is no Heaven on Earth.

I used the text on my poster to evoke action to the viewer. Some sections emphasize protection that should be given and some emphasize help that is on the way but the main supporters of the text are my chosen images. My images are, if not emotional, informative. There are news headlines, real images of Dinka people and culture and literal representations of what is happening to the people over in Sudan. Chains and bonds, fire and tears and separation all connect to the suffering people in literal and figurative terms. To bring back that idea of one good result for every bad, the images in the good side of the page show gentle hopes and peace and help for the people that arrive. Education for jobs, jobs to earn money, money to live, the whole idea of a new start forming into a domino effect. Another emphasis on my pictures works it’s way into the placement. I used the images of suffering on the lower half of the page, and the brighter side of the issue on the top.

Throughout the page, I show still parts of Dinka culture but I also work in the plight of the Lost Boys. In a burning country, I have a trail of feet showing where the boys went physically but where they went mentally and emotionally are other stories. Filling in the back of the page are words that can only explain the bare minimum of what the boys faced even though those words are powerful in themselves. A hidden eye reveals itself to say that even though all of this trouble, even though so many lives are being stolen, even though ear-piercing explosions seem to shatter the sky, no one seems to know, and even if they know, they pretend they do not see.

From the fire to the fading banner to the tears and the child soldier between the text and images are small cuts of despair from the people that ooze the need for empathy that I hope will be mended by people all over the world. The people of Sudan are suffering and the only things that people will truly ever do, is talk about doing something, no matter how much they say they will help. There is no solution to this issue if all anyone will do is say what they will do but not get off their bums and truly do something. As was written in Shakespeare’s play ‘Julius Caesar’, ‘Speak arms not words for me!’. In other words, enough talk and more action. As in said on the poster, ‘The World promised protection, let’s keep that promise.’ The World promised protection, not the US, not Canada, not Spain or the UK, the world promised to do something and my work speaks out on that issue. Ease the suffering, help put out the flames and let the people know that their cries are heard.