Signed and numbered by the artist. 16"x20" archival inkjet (giclée) on Entrada Natural 290gsm Cotton Rag Paper. Unframed
The composition and colors are inspired by Notorious BIG’s 1994 album cover for ‘Ready to Die’. Behind Charlie is the Rudyard Kipling poem entitled ‘If”.
Elections are times that bring into focus many critical issues and have an effect not only on us but our children. This piece ‘Hapa II’ is a sequel to my portrait of President Obama entitled ‘Hapa’ which I painted 4 years ago during the 2016 Elections. ‘Hapa’ which literally means ‘half’ in Hawaiian refers to someone of mixed racial ancestry. The depiction of a hapa child touches on the issue of racial equality and depicts the physical manifestation of different races coming together. His young age speaks as a symbol of a hopeful future but it is our responsibility to work hard and strive to make the world a better place. We can create an environment that our children can live and thrive in, so that when it is their turn to be handed the baton from our tired hands they will continue to change the world for the better.
IF by Rudyard Kipling:
If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:
If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;
If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
