This work seeks to portray the great migratory movement, specifically of people seeking refuge due to the various crises they face in their home countries.
I sought to convey, despite simple lines and limited texture, ethnic and cultural diversity, the people themselves, in the hope of a new beginning for themselves and their families, facing days and nights of walking toward an uncertain destination.
I depicted them without facial expressions in order to challenge everyone who looks at the painting to reflect and try to see themselves in the place of a refugee.
I understand that we, as the Church, need to move and, whenever possible, be those who welcome, who sustain, who embrace, who love.
I placed the cross in the background, showing that it is empty. Christ now leads us in grace to be His disciples and to be one with them. It is in a new opportunity for a fresh start that transformations happen — externally, with our help, and internally, through the Holy Spirit.
“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’”
— Matthew 25:34–40
Felipe Batista (Maringá/PR)
Traditional and digital illustrator, graduated in Theology and Visual Arts.
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/desenhistacristao/
Artwork presented in 2017 at the 1st Refugees Forum
Theme: “Place of Refuge – A Careful Look at Brazil”
