Blood Hands Series

This series is a homage and symbolic visual representation of the people who came before us. It serves to represent the people we do not see whom create all the things we enjoy daily and their stories. Behind everything we enjoy there is a person whose energy went into the creation and end product of that “thing”. The blood in these images represent life, without blood we could not live. The blood also represents life energy. I believe that when we take any action our life energy and emotional state is infused into that thing. Hence the phrase, “it’s made with love”. Have you ever realized how when something is created, such as food, in the state of love how different that taste compared to when someone makes the same food in a state of anger or indifference?

Do you ever take the time to think of the history of the things you use/eat daily? The history in regards to the people who created what you are consuming. Who are they? What conditions were they creating in? This is not nor does not only apply to the consumption of food. This topic goes broader and deeper. For me I reflect on this topic as an American reviewing our countries past. But this applies to many others countries and the people which reside in them. Do you think about the land you are on and wonder how it came to be? Do you think of those who came before you?

What happens when the land, items and foods we consume are cultivated through injustice? What happens when they were cultivated against the will of another human being at the expense of their bloodied hands? How does it make you feel to know what you have and own is at the expense of a human whose life energy was a forced investment which they cannot nor will ever get back? And when life energy was stolen from them and put into the items you consume; how do you think that affects you? How do you think that energy contributes to your life?

As a human race it is important to note that even though we are one, our histories as individuals/cultures differ greatly yet are connected. Have you reflected on your personal history? Do you know the stories that precede you and are now part of you? How do those stories shape who are and show up as?

For those with an ancestry of being oppressed:

Does it bother you that your ancestors were used so “others” can force their way through society; “others” who stole the will of your ancestors and did not care about the human life that existed in the people they subjected? They are placed below “other” human beings who feel as they do. They are given a lower value than the “other” human beings who are made up of the same bone, tissue, and consciousness. They are thought of as different and not equal to the “other” human beings yet they bleed the same way. The “others” cry the same. The “others” mourn the same way. And the “others” experience lose the same way and are happy the same way when their children grow.

For those with an ancestry of being the oppressor:

Does it bother you that your ancestors made their way through society at the cost of “others”; “others” who were unwilling subjected to the will of your ancestors who did not care about the human life that existed in the people they subjected? They placed themselves above other human beings who feel as they do. They thought themselves of higher value of the other human beings who are made up of the same bone, tissue, and consciousness. They thought themselves different and superior to the other human beings yet they bleed the same way. The “others” cry the same. The “others” mourn the same way. And the “others” experience lose the same way and are happy the same way when their children grow.

For everyone:

How do you contribute to the past and present, when you do not consciously acknowledge the history of those who came before you? What happens when you do not acknowledge the actions and history your ancestors? Are you contributing when you neglect to act towards making a forward change in the world?

Much of what we have access to is built and/or cultivated by the hands of other people. And it is our responsibility to remember them because we are a community. The whole world is a community. And what happens in one place effects humanity as a whole. What happens to an individual happens to the collective story of humanity.

I guess the ultimate question is:

how do we acknowledge our past and those that contribute to the lives we live, to make our current world more inclusive, honoring and connected to all parts involved?