Little Amal’s walk across San Diego this November was the main point of inspiration and the central part of my artwork. Amal, as I learned through talking with Amina Sheik Mohamed, means hope; this course taught that hope is one of the most valuable possessions that anyone can have, as it is the roots and driver of change. Therefore, in having Little Amal standing in front of a group of people and her arms spread, I wanted to invoke how her image literally and symbolically brings hope. To emphasize the central point of refugees in San Diego, I added iconic San Diego architecture in the background: Geisel Library and The Old Globe. Similarly, the airplane represents the long journey that many refugees had to traverse to come to San Diego.
The final addition to the piece was the red line woven between all the elements, which is inspired by a common tale in many cultures that there is a line of fate connecting us all. This is another thematic point of the course: even though the communities we learned about are so diverse, the narratives behind their arrival and life in San Diego share similar threads.
The composition of this work comes from “unintentional Renaissance” photos, reflecting our current state of transition towards a potentially brighter future similar to the Renaissance era. I started with just the image of Little Amal and a blurry crowd behind her, but I soon added images of people that were visible, as to not be complicit in the erasure of refugee stories.
This art was done exclusively using Procreate; using digital art was purposeful, as the products created by it are easily shared in its original form, which cannot be said for traditional art pieces. Overall, my intention was for this artwork to mirror various themes learned in the course and serve as a beacon of hope for the future—a visual representation of the resilience and shared experiences within the refugee community transitioning towards optimism.
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