Spirited Arts 2022

Mollie

Age 13

Risca Community School

Without this Hate We Are Equal – We Have Far More In Common

The piece of artwork that I have submitted portrays 9 women who all believe in a certain religion, look a certain way or have a certain type of lifestyle to others. All women shown face discrimination, prejudice and bullying for those decisions which are depicted in the space around them. The words that are closer to the character represent abuse that is targeted towards only them and is based solely on their appearance or lifestyle, whereas the comments that are in the general space above them show what people say to them whatever they may believe in or look like. Despite all the hate they face, they're all depicted with a strong and ambitious facial expression to show that whatever people may say about them, they keep their head high and remain determined.

The overall message that is conveyed here is to always remain happy and comfortable in your own skin despite the prejudice you may face for religious beliefs, race, gender, sexuality or anything else that could set you apart from the others and to constantly stay proud of who you are which is why the women in this drawing have their religious symbols, flags or any other symbol above them to show they accept and embrace their differences and know that if all the comments they get was stripped away, they would be all the same, thus the message, “Without this hate, we are equal.” Along with some religious quotes from the Bible that can portray that despite your differences, you will always be accepted by religion even though people say God doesn't accept certain types of people like the LGBTQ + community into Christianity, however, this is an outdated belief IMO and this piece has tried to make that belief extinct as the Bible also says that God loves everyone despite any flaws or differences.