SHOT! The What.

SHOT!16x20
Acrylic, Charcoal, and Pastel on Silk Screen.

Like many here in the US, we've been watching the new Egyptian revolution from afar, hoping for the best, waiting to hear what our government thinks, trying to figure out what went wrong...

But the thing that has really stood out to me so far was the recent report of the newly in-charge military shooting upon protestors, many of which were apparently in prayer. Yes, they claim there was a group throwing rocks and, eventually, using live ammo, but according to those at the scene, the vast majority was getting finished with dawn prayer services...and some even claim the violence was started by the military and not protestors.

I'm not here to say what happened or who's to blame (or even if the reaction by the military was warrented or not)...but the image of nearly 500 people in prayer being showered in gunfire stuck with me and was a terrible image, no matter what the cause, to mark the beginning of a new democracy.

SHOT! is a piece inspired by these events. A man raises his hands in prayer, wide-eyed, mouth a-gap, a hole already in the center of his forehead with smoke rising as if he's just as stunned as to what just happened as the people around him, the people watching, and the people here in the US, hoping for a more peaceful conclusion.