Inspired by an article published in the Guardian in 2011, this piece speaks of the difficulties encountered by those forced to flee their homeland and leave everything behind. The political boundaries that once provided a strong sense of identity and belonging become, in times of conflict, lines that need to be crossed at all costs in order to remain alive. The painting is tightly focussed on the figures, the concern and fatigue of the father and the weariness of the children, who follow without any understanding of their sudden flight. One child is close on the heels of his father, one looks out at the viewer, no longer blindly following and the last has given up and, we suspect, can go no further. But they have to stick together to survive and so the boundaries of the family unit have to become stronger. At any moment the parent must turn around, gather his children closer to him and instil in them his sense of urgency.
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