Hunger in the Land of Plenty

In most of my recent paintings, I take a critical view of social, political and cultural issues. In this painting, as an Artist with my root from Africa, I did this painting with a passion for my continent that is plagued with famine and wars.

“Hunger in the Land of Plenty” is saying something about the paradoxical situation of Africa- a continent blessed with many natural resources but still poor.

In the foreground, I put an African mother breastfeeding her baby while there are two empty bowls in front of her with nothing to feed herself. Surrounded with drought afflicted land, dead vegetation and livestock. In the middle ground is a woman tilling the dry ground with her crude tool, a hoe

The background shows fertile part of Africa that produces enough food to feed the people of the land but the products are exported to other parts of the world. At the top left corner of the painting, I put a cargo ship that takes African products to other parts of the world. African’s natural resources and agricultural products are being exported leaving Africa in poverty.