A Mother's Cry

People write to me for various reasons. A few months ago a lady wrote to me concerning my portrayal of death. She thought I held it in some sort of romantic notion. She asked me many pertinent questions to which I never responded. She told me in her letter that she had lost two sons in the current war with Iraq. I had very little to say. The whole incident took me on a personal journey. I have always been very respectful of all the dead that gave up their lives for our civil liberties.
Both my parents suffered great atrocities during the Second World War. A topic which was discussed weekly in our household and something I grew up with. I have no answers to these very difficult questions. My heart goes out to every parent who has lost a child in any war and in any country. I offer up this painting in memory of them all. I thank the lady that wrote to me and she is in my thoughts and prayers daily.

Dead! One of them shot by the sea in the east,
And one of them shot in the west by the sea.
Both! both my boys! If in keeping the feast
You want a great song...... Let none look at me!

Words by Elizabeth Barrett Browning ,1862

Music by Danez Prigent & Lisa Gerrard

Painting and Video by Sophie Shapiro

June 2010

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Mother's
• Cry
• Death
• of
• Soldier
• Iraq
• Wars
• Remembering
• The
• Dead