LAS MADRES (Mothers) These figurative paintings with madres (mothers) in heroic postures are homages to the working mother and child relationship. Mothers are unpaid, underpaid, undervalued, unappreciated, the invisible labor, and overlooked for their contributions to multi-tasking duties in this complex fabric of our society. Theirs has been institutionalized gender inequality. This invisible economic engine where women do the cooking, cleaning, child, and elder care keeps them from advancing economically, at work, and in society.
Amid decorative backgrounds, I imbue my subjects with beauty, dignity, humanity, and individuality. Their attitudes provide intimacy, strength, endurance, pride, and unsparing honesty in wanting and praying for nothing less than a better future for their children.
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The family in this painting was from Venezuela seeking political asylum in a refugee camp of over 2000 people in Matamoros, Mexico. Isabel C. Olarte and husband left everything behind to provide a better future for her two children. They had been waiting seven months under dire conditions to be granted immigration status in the US, and Isabel was one of the few women I interviewed.
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