Alienation

2007 · pencil, color pencil, acrylic on paper · 22 x 15 in

I listened to an episode of This American Life by Alix Spiegel, titled Shouting Across the Divide, that tells the story of a young Muslim American mother who moves her family from the West Bank to America for a better life. But after 9/11, they are subjected to intense discrimination towards Muslims in their community that places a tremendous burden on the family. Still, she manages to emerge with her faith in America intact. I was so moved by it that I painted this.